


Isenasha

by TheMousyWriter



Series: Tail of Two Twins [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F, F/M, Female Character of Color, Gen, Heavy Vine Quotes, M/M, Modern Character in Thedas, Modern Girl in Thedas, Musical References, Oops, Pop Culture, Slow Burn, Solas Falls For A Human, Strong Female Characters, The Music Teacher Fic That Nobody Asked For, music teacher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:41:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 51,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27096721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMousyWriter/pseuds/TheMousyWriter
Summary: Maiuma and Tira Frye are twin graduate students in Ohio. One day, Maiuma gets sucked into a magical rip in the fabric of the universe and appears on the other side in Tira's favorite video game, Dragon Age: Inquisition. She knows little about most of the world except that there's a certain Wolf God lurking around the Inquisition lying in wait to try his hand at destroying it. What will happen if he finds out she knows about him and his plot? When she gains some magical powers and finds old friends in this world, the game changes completely. What happens when this ancient man becomes infatuated with her otherworldly charm? Could she do what every Inquisitor failed to do in the game? Could she change the Dread Wolf's mind?
Relationships: Cullen Rutherford/Original Female Character(s), Female Inquisitor (Dragon Age)/Original Character(s), Female Inquisitor (Dragon Age)/Original Female Character(s), Fen'Harel | Solas/Original Female Character(s), Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus, Josephine Montilyet/Original Female Character(s), Leliana (Dragon Age)/Original Female Character(s), Solas & Original Female Character(s), Solas (Dragon Age)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Tail of Two Twins [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977760
Comments: 76
Kudos: 132





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning:
> 
> There will be many, many pop culture references and a lot of music and theory. Maiuma and Tira are music babies, but it will never be something that you need to figure out yourself, or think extensively about (Unless you really feel like it)  
> I will try my best to always link songs and/or videos when they are referenced, so you can enjoy the full auditory fun too. :) 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

_There was once an old wolf who sang with the moon-_

_Who reached for it, bringing his whole world to doom._

_There once was a woman who entered the fade;_

_Powerful mark on her hand- a hero was made._

_They joined forces, founding the Inquisition of olde,_

_The wolf, all the while clamoring for a scrap of hope to hold._

_The wolf’s magic was strong, but his will was much stronger._

_He couldn’t bear to stay with the woman any longer._

_They made many friends and fought many battles,_

_But the heart inside his chest continued to rattle._

_He had to bring the world back- his world over theirs._

_He was conflicted, for their love and virtue caught him unawares._

_The pull to his duty was suffocating and sturdy._

_Just what makes this world so unworthy?_

_The wolf helped them fight a man who inherited his lost power._

_The man who was beating them down until his final hour._

_And so the story continues, two worlds connected by a boon._

_Connected by the wolf reduced to howling at the moon._

“That’s so wordy.” Maiuma breathed, careful not to move her hand.

“You’re too wordy.” Her twin sister quipped, tightening her hold. “And besides, it’s like a metaphor.”

“Metaphors are created for the specific purpose of not being wordy.” Maiuma deadpanned. 

“Well then you make a better one that describes the whole plot of Inquisition.”

“My hand itches.” Maiuma tried to resist the involuntary twitches that accompanied the complaint. 

“Well, you could scratch it, if you want.” Tira shot her a look that she knew was supposed to dispel her indignation. It did very little. 

“You’re taking longer than you normally do on purpose, aren’t you?”

“How long do you think henna usually takes?” Tira took a temporary respite from her handiwork to admire it and compare it to the one on her own hands. “Anyway, I _am_ doing something different than usual. I’m surprised you haven’t recognized the style by now.” Tira grinned and batted the barely visible lashes on her eyes in that eery expression that meant she was up to no good. 

“Am I supposed to?” Maiuma took a second to examine the dryer of her two hands- turning it this way and that. Her face burned lightly at the realization of what she had been branded with. “Is this that vaseline- vallasilen? Whatever the fuck- that elf slave brand shit?” Tira’s grin should’ve broken her face in half. 

“Vallaslin. And I have one too!” She held up both of her arms to reveal a much more extensive design than Maiuma was willing to allow herself to be put through. “Mine are in dedication to Andruil. Well, with a little bit of Mythal at the ends because they curve better at the elbows.” _Up to the elbows…_ Maiuma thought wearily. “Guess who you’re getting?” 

“What, that bald wolf guy? The one with the pretty eyes.” When Tira took too long to answer, Maiuma looked up. It took her a moment to detect all of the emotions in her round, green eyes. Tira seemed to be caught between disappointment and frustration that Maiuma had guessed right and smugness that she could pull such a thing off. Maiuma thought her eye might’ve twitched just a little. 

“Give me that.” Tira snatched her hand back up to continue her work. 

“Did you think I wouldn’t catch on? You just sang me an entire song about him.” Tira smirked, but didn’t respond. 

Maiuma stared past her shoulder at the window overlooking the university’s beautiful quad. It was just turning fall, and all of the summer-bloomed trees and flowers were still bright and lovely with the addition of the gentle September breeze. It was one of the things that attracted her to this campus when she was looking into colleges for her undergrad. She thought it might make her more productive to be able to see all the beautiful plantlife uninhibited as they could be, and shining brightly. She was right. Tira just knew someone in their archery club. Hell- she knew they had an archery club at all.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Tira inquired.

“No.” She said without looking. “They’re all worth at least a nickel.” Tira snorted and the sound pulled a smile across her own lips. She turned to her twin sister with barely concealed amusement. “I was just thinking, at least people will be able to tell us apart. Since you’ve got the Hunter on your skin and me, the Wolf."

“That is not what you were thinking. People couldn’t tell us apart when I shaved my hair, and they’re _really_ not going to tell us apart because of some weird video game art henna.”

“Your words, not mine.” She admired Tira as she worked. Her warm, golden brown hands- now marked for Andruil- moved gracefully in their ministrations. Her pale jade eyes traced the work her hands did, framed perfectly with her black eyeliner and red lashes. The thick gingerbread curtain of hair on her head was shaved on one side- obviously growing back after a few months of not following up with a razor. She had always wondered why Tira preferred to keep it all straightened and cut, but upon thinking about how boring Maiuma usually was with her own, and how difficult it was to maintain, she supposed it wasn’t that strange a choice. The sun pouring through the window behind her made her glow all the same, enhancing the luster of her skin, hair, and eyes- almost comparable to that of a goddess. 

Marveling at her sister’s beauty in this way actually felt dangerously similar to staring at one’s own self in the mirror and appreciating the view- after all, they had the same face- but moments like these, on sunny days when Tira was being the least offensive or annoying she could be, tended to make her feel the tiniest bit nostalgic. Or cathartic. Or some weird combination of the two. 

“Uma.” Tira deadpanned. Maiuma’s senses flooded back to her at once. The faint, whimsical tinkering of a piano grew obnoxious as she realized her phone was ringing. 

“Um…” She looked at her very not dry hands and realized while she had been busy praising her sister’s good looks, Tira had painted not just to her elbows, but all the way up both arms with the stupid Wolf’s brand. She sighed in resignation. “Back left.” Tira lifted slightly from her seat and reached into her back pocket. She slapped the phone on the table between them and answered. 

“Hey sexy!” She drawled. 

“Hey, Ti. Is Uma there?” Daniel’s voice boomed through the speaker. She cast a glance around, checking that they were still alone in the cozy study area. 

“How do you even do that?” Tira pouted. Daniel had always had a knack for telling them apart. She was willing to chalk it up to good luck most times, and Tira’s overwhelming personality, others. Sometimes, it was just plain weird. 

“Hey, Daniel. What’s up?”

“Oh, hey. So I was thinking, for the festival this year, we should do a roleplaying-themed stand. It would be super cool. We could even let Ti do something with that Bioware game she lives by… Unless you had another idea.” Before she could get a word in edgewise, Tira had already swooped up the phone and begun chirping excitedly to Daniel regarding all her suggestions for the stand. _Well._ She thought, with the sun dimming, and the moment gone just as quickly as it had come, _At least it’s him and not me now._

____________________________________________________________________________

  
  


After the tirade that was wrangling her phone from Tira's death grip and getting her to wipe off the henna begging to be smeared across her arms, the two had gone separate ways to finish up their day outside of the house. Tira was off hanging with some friends, or going to the store to buy some more gaming gear or… something. Maiuma, on the other hand, focused her efforts toward practicing some tunes on her fretless bass guitar. She had let her skills slip some in light of more work and family drama, but her hands were starting to ache as they did only when she hadn't practiced in a while. Unsurprisingly, she found herself more focused and with renewed energy after her briefer session, and decided to dip out and pick up some materials to make a nice dessert after they'd dinner. 

As customary these days, after dinner, they enjoyed their sweets on the sofa, staring into the TV screen as Tira advanced in her mission to romance Cullen, the Knight Commander- hater of mages- with a Dalish elf mage, of all characters. Maiuma had to give it to her. She was very persistent. She thought she was actually beginning to see some progress, despite all the things Tira's friends and the creators of the elaborate game said. 

"Um." Tira grunted without looking away from the screen. 

"I hope that wasn't supposed to be my name because I'm not answering to it." 

"Uma."

"Yes, sweet sister?" Maiuma raised a ginger brow and smiled.

"You seen paps in a while?" She paused the game. "You know, since…"

"Since you screamed at him and told him you never wanted to see him again? No. And I'm not surprised." For once, Tira looked sheepish. 

"Listen, you don't know what he said. What he did."

"No, but I know what you said and did." Maiuma deadpanned.

"Only because- I… I'm not apologizing."

"Great, then what are you bugging me for?" Maiuma busied herself cleaning up their plates and silverware. Tira unpaused the game and relaxed- making Maiuma realize that she'd been tense. 

"Look, he's still our papa. And I'm still worried." 

"At least, on that, we can agree, Tira." Maiuma stood.

"Can you stop it? With your wordy, vaguely arrogant facade? You do this every single time I have something worthwhile to say, and you know it pisses me off."

"So say something better. Change my mind." Maiuma didn't wait for a response this time, as she padded over to the kitchen and replaced the items to their respective storages. She sighed heavily. _Every time._ She thought. She briefly considered going back to the living room and sitting in a silent, broody ceasefire with her sister- as they most often tended to do between arguments- but the idea passed when she heard Tira turn the volume of the game up to an obnoxious and uncomfortable volume. Tira knew that Maiuma didn't prefer to sit near anything that loud, and thus was warning her not to dare trying to wear her down by returning. 

She passed the living room without so much as a glance in her direction. She instead headed straight for their papa's neat, almost utilitarian room where he kept the beat up old record player they always ogled in their childhood. Fonder memories. She went through the well practiced motions of selecting a record, relieving it of the sleeve, placing it on the top, and securing the needle. When the record began to spin, she realized that it was well into its usefulness, and screeched and scratched every verse or two. 

She sat softly on the bed, which smelled terribly of the old pipe he kept at his bedside, and dialed his number on her phone. It rang once, then twice, then again, several times. She tried again. Same result. She fell back onto the covers with an 'umph' and laid her phone on her chest thinking about where on earth he could be. Though her ire was certainly misplaced, Tira was right to be concerned. Their father was the type of old fool to get up to mischief and cause himself much more trouble than the initial impulse was worth- smiling and joking all the while. 

He was once arrested for beating the crap out of a teenager for calling him an old geezer and trying to steal his precious tobacco pipe. She'd been able to pull some strings on account of her ex-boyfriend being the police chief's son, and the teenager wasn’t hurt too badly, but even her ex-boyfriend’s dad had a hard time calling it self defense. After the teenager attacked him, her father went above and beyond what was expected and made the kid empty out everything in his pockets and swear never to touch an elder's things again. He proudly told the officers that the boy had repented and that he would do it again if the opportunity presented itself. He loved his life lessons- especially when it came to Maiuma and Tira.

She reached across the bedside table and retrieved the item that started the whole ordeal. It was a weird weight in her hands, and she would have never been able to achieve this level of proximity to it had he been there. Frankly, she was surprised that it wasn’t somehow attached to him. She ran her fingers over the intricate design as she realized just how elaborate the wooden contraption was. It was shaped like a little claw- the palm holding the bowl for the tobacco and the arm serving as the neck of the pipe. Every single scale was meticulously carved out, and each talon polished as though it had just been severed from whatever animal it depicted. The scales eventually smoothed out into what looked like a bit of ivory or pearl for the mouthpiece- except it was a mesmerizingly iridescent black. Upon closer inspection, the neck of the pipe broke out into a strange script that wasn’t like any language she’d ever seen before. Big, bold, crude letters bore holes into her subconscious the longer she looked. She blinked a couple of times to will the headache away. When she looked back, words appeared in her mind that were eager to escape her lips. 

_“jaciv svaust smunsoua wer svant, si torkta dout tiichir vur tor ihk vi tokeq gogetoi sari wer treskri di lyriki.”_ She spoke, almost unconsciously. She furrowed her brow and pulled out the satchel that always accompanied the pipe. She wrinkled her nose as the smell hit her- even from her considerable distance of an arm’s length. _Yep. That’s the magic stuff he puts in his lungs every day._ She had never smelled anything like it. It was a potent smell, but not altogether unpleasant and not at all unfamiliar. Gently closing the pouch, she plucked her phone from her chest to try calling her father again when she felt a tiny prick at the palm holding the pipe. She hastily dropped her phone and observed a droplet of her blood flow between the scales of the claw. She sighed and went to wipe it off with her hoodie, but no matter how she looked, she couldn’t seem to find the blood stain anymore. 

“Okay.” She resigned, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. She could worry about figuring out where her father was later. He was probably staying over a friend’s or beating lessons into more teenagers who thought they knew better than him. Maybe he’d forgotten his pipe on accident and would be coming to get it any minute. 

Maiuma was vaguely aware of a green fluorescent glow that erupted from beyond her eyelids and the sound of her sister’s voice, shrill and panicked, as she drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of exposition. Now we're ready to meet the Wolf!


	2. Chapter 1: When in Thedas...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventure begins!

“I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach’s wake- and it seems I was correct.” Maiuma only half-heard a startlingly familiar voice say as she barrelled through a funnel of blackness at breakneck speed. She suddenly collided with something solid, roughly the size of her own body. She thought she might’ve heard a scream rip itself from her throat but she couldn’t be sure. It sounded like multiple voices at once. And then she lost consciousness. 

Maiuma awoke perhaps a couple seconds later to searing pain in her left shoulder, right thigh, and head. Everywhere that could experience it, really. She blearily opened her heavy eyes and faintly registered a rumbling in her chest and breath on her neck. 

“-manner of demon is this?” A woman spoke in a rasped, cautious voice. 

“I am not sure. I do not detect any demonic energy.” Her chest rumbled again. Once she could figure out which way was up, she splayed a hand out on either side of herself to try to lean up. It only worked to drag her back down into the squirming mass below her. Just as she thought she might try again, a rough hand clamped under her left arm and yanked her back. She cried out loudly in pain- she’d never been conscious with a dislocated shoulder, but she could bet this felt pretty similar.

“Explain yourself.” 

“You think this was me?” A new voice; younger and much calmer than the last.

“The rift closing was you.”

“No. He said it was the  _ mark _ .” Maiuma finally opened her eyes to survey her new surroundings, and suddenly she felt very cold. She was outside- in the middle of some kind of winter. She was surrounded by tall stone walls that were crumbling and left bricks scattered all over. There were a few fires burning silently- though she didn’t think they were put there intentionally. Another few rounds of rapid blinking brought her eyes onto a shorter gentleman with strawberry blonde hair. He was watching the two still arguing women with a weary expression and a crossbow in his hands. There was something eerily familiar about his visage, but she couldn’t tell why. 

She dared to look to the other three people she’d heard. The two women were now in front of her, and from her vantage point, she could see the older one had black cropped hair and bore some kind of symbol on her chest accompanied by a broad shield across her shoulder blades and a rather large sword at her belt. Maiuma actually gulped. The other woman looked a little kinder- though not by very much- with shaggy platinum blonde hair of around the same length and two smaller swords slung across her back. She had some kind of odd symbol on her left eye. When her eyes drifted downward and landed on the man in front of her- the ELF in front of her- she suddenly wished they hadn’t. There, before her, was plainly and clearly an elf. And now that she thought of it, so was the younger woman arguing. Panic flooded her brain. They all looked familiar because she’d seen them before. She had seen Tira play amongst these characters in her favorite video game! The shorter man was Varric! He was Varric… something... the DWARF! She now recognized the older woman as the one who had imprisoned the Inquisitor before they were… well, the Inquisitor. So the younger elven woman must’ve been the Herald. And the bald elf… The bald elf… The elven GOD was right in front of her! She had rammed right into him! And now he was staring at her. Like  _ staring  _ staring. She took in a shuttery breath before her eyes caught onto something else just beyond the Inquisitor. Before she knew what she was doing, her legs sprung her into action, and her undamaged hand wrapped around the hilt of one of the Inquisitor’s swords. She waved it in a cleaving motion. She barely saw the older woman move to stop her when the sword sank into the humanoid form that was much too crunchy. The demon let out a guttural screech and thrashed around, knocking both Maiuma and the Inquisitor off of their feet. The demon ran at her in fury before it froze over completely and shattered to pieces, revealing the older woman and Fen’harel at attention behind it, arms still outstretched. 

“It must’ve erupted from the rift when she did.” Fen’harel said in a voice that was both much too smooth and too warm for the depth of the situation she found herself in. 

“I guess I should… Thank you, right?” The Inquisitor leaned up from her position planted on the ground. “For saving my life.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.” Maiuma no more than mumbled, turning her back to the real, flesh and blood beings that used to be pixels on a screen. She tried to toss her head into her hands but instantly regretted it as her shoulder wound tore a screech from her lips. Everything was too sudden. How had she even gotten here? Fen’harel said that the demon must’ve followed her out of the rift. Did that mean she came from a fucking rift? She was just in her papa’s room looking at his pipe- a large but gentle hand startled her from looking around in search of it. She turned to see Fen’harel crouching beside her. She felt something drop into her lap. There, she found her papa’s pipe- still intact- his little weed satchel, her phone, and her glasses. She wasn’t even aware she’d lost them. She hastily snatched her phone into her pocket and slapped the glasses on her face. When she looked up at him, he was so close she could practically count every freckle and pore. She could distinguish a small scar just above his right eyebrow- see the faint glow in his hooded, foggy blue eyes. 

“I believe you to have a dislocated shoulder.” He breathed.  _ I knew it. _ She let out a breath that she hadn’t known she was holding. “If you are amenable, I would set it.” She stared at him wearily, but he continued to slowly raise his other hand toward her wrist, pale eyes never leaving her own- as if she were a deer who would spook at the slightest of twitches. Then, right as he was about to touch her, he stopped.  _ God damned hover hands!  _ She’d thought that was a glitch in the game! The software’s inability to get him close enough when he grasped wrists and arms- as he often did. She looked away and nodded slightly, bracing herself. She cursed when he did as promised and curled her other fist around the fabric at his elbow. 

“Here.” The Inquisitor held out the scarf that’d been fastened around her waist to Fen’harel. He nodded and took it from her, settling it about Maiuma’s arm. 

“No, you don’t have to.” He hovered again. 

“You know, I hate people who can't take a hint. You saved my life. Take the damn scarf, and whatever other help these people try to give you!” The Inquisitor demanded. Maiuma just blinked, unsure if she could even argue that point. 

“You may have saved her life, but she is also my prisoner, and while we know you’re not a demon, we still don’t know who you are or where you came from.” The older woman’s piercing gaze seemed to make Maiuma shrink until Fen’harel helped her up. The woman threw her fanny pack at her, although she was not sure at all how it got there. It was apparent that she’d taken the opportunity to search it for… a knife? A few coins? What could she have been keeping in it that would’ve been a threat?

“Well, she does have a point.” Varric chimed in. She then realized that Varric had been very quiet this whole time. She could tell he was trying to absorb as much information as he could from this exchange, probably so as to write it all down later. He was a storyteller, after all. That was one of the things that drew her towards trying to make Tira romance him for one playthrough.  _ Tira… I’m never going to see her again, am I?  _

“So let’s all sit down and chat. Apparently none of us know any of us except you three.” The Inquisitor mused.  _ Well I guess this means she’s not the Inquisitor yet, huh? _

“We have no time to dally. We must advance to the-”

“So then you won’t learn anything about us because I’m not going anywhere until I at least know names. Kill both of us and be done with it- Lose your only hope of closing the Breach. That’s what you were thinking the mark could do, right?” The pre-Inquisitor didn’t miss a beat. It gave her a weird sense of relief that she was so like Tira. Always getting straight to the point and being annoyingly honest. The older woman huffed and bristled. She glanced at the two men. Varric walked forward, presenting himself to Maiuma and the pre-Inquisitor. 

“Well, not that I don’t want to be ass-deep in demons forever, but uh… the young elven lady has a point. Varric Tethras; rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong.” He paused to wink in the older woman’s direction. Maiuma could sense her seething. Maiuma bowed her head slightly. 

“My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased you still live… Well, both of you, that is.” He amended, eyeing her.  _ Uh oh.  _ Maiuma thought, remembering the second sentence as the most curious quote in the whole game for how blunt it was and how giddily he always delivered it. The way he’d included her reminded her that since she was here, everything that she knew about the game- which was not nearly enough to be living in it anyway- was liable to change. She had to try to keep her hands out of it- and considering that one of them was now in a sling, she didn’t think it would be hard. 

“He means, ‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.’ Nothing but a big bald mother hen, if I’ve ever seen one. You just saw how quick he was to treat you.” Varric pointed to Maiuma. She found herself avoiding Fen- Solas’s gaze.  _ Solas. Like the sun. But also like Pride.  _ She tried to commit his name to memory so as not to slip up and call him anything different. 

“Big mother hen, huh?” The pre-Inquisitor tilted her head to one side. “Then I owe you my thanks, too.” She proffered a hand to him. This time, he didn’t hover. “Chivi. Got a longer name, just don’t feel like saying it.” Solas nodded. 

“Thank me if we manage to close the Breach without killing you in the process. Cassandra, you should know. The magic involved here is unlike any I’ve seen. Your prisoner is no mage. Indeed, I find it difficult to imagine any mage having such power.”

“Understood. We must get to the forward camp quickly.” Cassandra insisted, eyes carving trails of cold scrutiny along Maiuma’s face. “But first,” She edged, waiting for Maiuma to speak. 

“Got a name, pretty girl?” Varric mused, clearly trying to lighten the mood.  _ Bless him. _

“Um… Mai-” She stopped herself and thought for a moment about whether she should give them an alias or something. It really shouldn’t matter too much, as they had no way of getting over to her world to find out anything else.

“Yeah,  _ your  _ name.” Chivi leaned forward as if trying to lure the words from Maiuma’s lips. She shook her head, resigning to keeping it simple. 

“Just Mai. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Chivi made a very Tira-ish face that said she didn’t quite believe that was the truth, but couldn’t- or wouldn’t really argue otherwise. 

“Shall we go?” Solas spoke up, eyes lingering on Mai for a few seconds more. Cassandra turned without answering. Solas followed, and she moved when Chivi did. Varric sidled up alongside Mai.

“That’s a nice crossbow, Varric.” She tried. Perhaps if she could make one friend here with someone who is slightly familiar, she would survive a little while longer. 

“Ah, isn’t she? Bianca and I have been through a lot together.” He recalled reverently.

“You named your crossbow Bianca?” Chivi chimed, hands enterlaced atop her head. 

“Of course. And she’ll be great company in the valley.” He kept his eyes forward and Mai heard Cassandra make a sound akin to an “ugh” in disapproval. “Got words for me, Cassandra?” He questioned. She stopped and turned for all but a second before continuing. Solas never slowed in his stride, which was the only thing that really kept the ragtag group moving forward. 

“Your help is appreciated, Varric, but-”

“Have you been in the valley? Your soldiers aren’t in control anymore.” He said matter-of-factly. Then softly, but just as sternly, “You need me.” Cassandra made a smaller noise of disgust and Mai supposed that meant she was conceding defeat- for now, at least.

“Well, Bianca’s excited.” Varric threw his arms out as he walked with Mai. She snorted at him but tried to cover it up by clearing her throat. From the sly smirk tugging on his lips, she could tell that it had been ineffective. After a few minutes of traveling in silence, Mai spoke up.

“Hey, thanks for sticking up for me back there, Chivi.” The elven woman hummed in affirmation. 

“No problem,  _ da’blar _ .” Chivi said with her sister’s shit-eating grin. “You remind me of someone that needs protecting but doesn’t like to be protected.”

“And you remind me of someone who thinks I need protecting.  _ Felandaris _ .” Mai cut. Chivi tried not to laugh and the resulting sound was a low cackle.

“You either have a pretty decent command of elven for a non-Dalish, or that was a very lucky guess.” 

“And what? If it were a guess, would you be willing to teach me,  _ ghi’lan _ ?” She teased and from the corner of her eyes, she saw Chivi only respond with a small smile, brows furrowed in curiosity. Unfortunately, directly in front of her, she swore she saw Solas’s ear twitch.  _ Never a good sign. _ She prayed to whatever powerful force was left that he had just heard something ahead of them. If he became interested in her…  _ I mean, he’s the DREAD WOLF for Christ’s sake!  _ If he’d caught her scent, he would never let her go if she posed a threat to any of his plans- which she currently did just by being around him and knowing as much as she knew. 

“You two are awful chummy for two strangers.” Varric chimed in. She dared to give him a sidelong glance. It revealed nothing conclusive. He wore a smile that was both amused and weary. 

“Yeah well, I wasn’t lying” Chivi saved her. “She really does remind me of someone I know.” 

“And you, I.” Mai stated neutrally. On the inside, she reprimanded herself for feeling chumy or comfortable with any of them right off the bat. She shouldn’t know them, or know that they would keep her safe if they needed to. Hell- she actually  _ didn’t _ know Chivi! She’d never seen her face before, and she was sure Tira hadn’t created her in any playthrough she’d been party to. She guessed the friendly banter came as something of a coping mechanism to pair with the silent panic and despair she was feeling at the loss of her father, and her sister- health and safety regulations, google. Hot water! Nothing about this place made her feel safe except the Inquisition- at least the people who would form it. Even though Solas was functionally the most terrifying and powerful person she could ever think of in existence, he still had a heart, and while he was tailing Chivi and the mark, he was just a big guard dog.  _ With a lethal bite if you rub him wrong.  _ She shivered just in time for them to hear the telltale sounds of a battle going on. As if they were synchronized cogs in an analog clock, the four once-fictional characters sprinted into action the moment other people were in view.  _ No one here has any self preservation.  _ She sighed.  _ And the one that has way more than he has a right to was the first one into the fray.  _

“Wait, Varric!” She called, barely clawing a finger into his sleeve before he was out of reach. Bianca was already drawn.

“Yeah, little lady?” 

“Could you put this around my neck? I want to help.” She gestured to her fanny pack, which she had been carrying the whole way. 

“Are you sure about that, Mai?” He examined her from head to toe. “I think you oughta sit this one out. You made pretty good work of the last demon, but that was  _ one _ , and I’m pretty sure it would’ve killed you if Chuckles hadn’t frozen it solid.” He spoke while he lifted the pack up around her neck, nonetheless. 

“What else would you have me do?” She almost pleaded. She hated feeling useless, though she wasn’t actually sure she could even fight if he’d encouraged her to.

“Um,” He fired off a couple bolts into demons cornering Chivi and Solas. “I’d hate to say sit pretty, but…” He surveyed the scene below them carefully. 

“Sit pretty.” They said at the same time. He gave her a small, sympathetic smile before also jumping into the fight. “You should be fine up here.” 

So, she watched them fight for a few minutes, considering when would be a good time to rush in and help, but everybody seemed to be taking good care of themselves. Just when she was about to sit down, she saw Chivi glance up at her. Her shoulders slumped and she shoved Solas’s shoulder as soon as he was done dispatching a demon.

_ “Da’blar!” Never gonna outlive being a shy little flower in a brand new world, am I? _ She thought. Then she felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise stiff. She turned swiftly to come face to hood with a demon unlike the ones they were fighting down on the ice. Though, she recognized this one anyway.  _ Despair.  _


	3. Chapter 2: Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma finds herself in a very specific situation.

Its bent-over body and too big jaws had been enough to give her pause when it was just Tira playing a video game. Now it was real, and she had no way to protect herself from it. With her arm in a sling, no weapons, and a fanny pack around her neck, she was doomed. Her heart sank. Somehow she could feel that the demon was thriving off of her negative reaction, but she couldn’t find any way to do anything about it. This was it. This was how she would go out- all alone on a fictional planet with nothing else to lose. No friends, and no one to mourn her.

She distantly heard the calls of her acquaintances as they fought below, but was unable to tear her gaze away from Despair as it turned its neck crookedly to look at her. She saw one of Varric’s crossbow bolts jam right in between its teeth, which tore a screech like nails on a chalkboard from it, and sent it reeling back just so much that Mai came to her senses… Or rather, lost them in an entirely different way. In what seemed like an incredible burst of adrenaline, Mai pushed herself off the ground and advanced on the demon. Whatever it was that she saw in Varric- felt in his presence, it empowered her in a way she thought impossible mere seconds before. With almost unrealistic gall and even more strength, she pulled the bolt out of the monster’s teeth, planting a foot to its face for leverage, and stabbed at its throat. It was quick to hop away from her, catching the wind like a discarded plastic bag, landing several yards away. Whatever clarity she had at the moment told her in a small voice not to follow it. She would be okay if she could get closer to the others- get under their protection- but something else in her, more feral and dominant begged her to chase it. It was obviously weakened. She could easily end it. She would. She would not have this demon living on to torture any other beings with its twisted machinations. It had done enough harm- it needed to repent. 

She gripped the bolt with enough force that it almost snapped in half- a marvel in and of itself- but then something happened that made even less sense. It started glowing. Rather, her hand started glowing around it, and before she could figure out what she was doing, or whether or not it was even her doing it, a purple flame swallowed the bolt, and when they died down, in its place was a sturdy red beryl blade with shiny scales at its hilt. She barely had time to process it before Despair was on her. This time, she took a step and plunged the sword into the demon, using the momentum of its attack to deepen the blade. She forced both hands onto the butt of the sword and twisted, releasing a volley of piercing screeches and moans from the monster. It flailed and stretched in and out as it died, and just before it completely disappeared, a blinding light erupted from its core and tore its way through. When it was done, she was panting and the adrenaline was starting to wear off. She stared at the blade and then blinked rapidly- as if waiting for it to fade away back into her imagination. It remained. She heard soft footfalls in the snow behind her and realized that the ice below had gone silent. They must’ve seen that whole thing. 

“Mai.” Chivi said gravely. Mai squared her shoulders and prepared for the worst. “You didn’t tell me you were a mage!” She grinned so wide, her face changed shape.  _ I didn’t tell me I was a mage.  _ She thought wearily. 

“You didn’t ask.” She deigned to glance at Cassandra, Varric, and Solas. While Chivi was busy cheering her on, Cassandra looked… well, pissed to say the least. Varric looked moderately impressed, and Solas… Was unreadable.  _ So he’s either thinking about how best to take me down in my sleep or trying to discern the color of my eyes.  _ “They’re peridot.” She answered her own question out of nervousness when she realized they’d been in a deadlock staredown. That snapped him out of his pondering- for now- as he lowered his eyes and nodded. She was going to have to get MUCH better at reading him. For her own safety. “And I don’t think I could do that again, if you were banking on it.” She lightly joked. Cassandra’s face remained taught. 

“That blade.” She said without removing her eyes from Mai. Mai blanched and chuckled in a way that sounded more like a vocalized gasp. 

“You guys wouldn’t believe me if I said I found it, right?” She tried. Chivi crossed her arms, but looked otherwise amused. 

“We will have to discuss these powers you possess later. In detail.” She added sternly and began walking in the direction they’d been headed in before the fight. This time, 3 pairs of eyes stayed attached to her for several moments before anyone followed after her. When they were at a normal pace, again, she was flanked by Varric and Chivi. It still felt protective in a way, but she couldn’t tell whether she felt more protected from the demons or Cassandra. 

“Thanks for the bolt… And sorry. I would give it back to you if I could.” She stared at the crystalline blade in her hand.  _ I should’ve guessed I would be a mage. It figures fate would have me in the worst position imaginable in this unbelievable world.  _ She sighed.  _ It could be worse. I could be a mage elf. Wait. Am I an elf? _

“Hey, don’t sweat it, Flora. Glad it could do somethin’ for ya.” 

“Ugh. Are we still doing the flower thing?” She heard Chivi openly chuckle and resisted the urge to elbow her strongly in the ribs. “Do we really need nicknames? Mai is fine.”

“Flora, short for Passiflora. You ever seen one of those? Weirdest lookin’ things, but that whole purple fire burst you did was kinda dead on. Still not sure if it’s the one, though. Keep checkin’ in.” He said with a small, thoughtful smile. 

She couldn’t help but share it. Though it didn’t stay for long, as they passed a burning house tucked into the brush. She couldn’t believe all of this was happening. 

“So, are you two innocent?” Varric spoke again loudly enough for the two in front to hear easily. 

“I don’t know what happened.” “I don’t remember what happened.” Mai and Chivi supplied at the same time, which made it sound like a rehearsed lie. Varric whistled sharply, but remained somewhat amused.

“That’ll getcha everytime. Shoulda came up with a story.” 

“That’s what you would’ve done.” Cassandra barely turned over her shoulder.

“It’s more believable! And less prone to lead to premature execution.” He joked, although the threat of that very thing felt very imminent. Chivi bumped into her, and just as she was about to protest, she felt Chivi’s knuckles brush hers. It was oddly intimate for a couple of hour-long strangers, but not at all any less comforting. She must’ve noticed the consternation in her eyes, and if she was telling the truth about her reminding her of someone else; someone she felt the need to protect, then Mai could almost liken this sense of familiarity to her bond with her twin. Some connections weren’t about time. It was just a gut feeling- something deep and primal. 

They passed a few more demons on the way. This time, she didn’t get cornered, but she did, on occasion, swipe at some with her new blade and succeed in downing even fewer. When they reached an incline, Chivi’s hand crackled with power and Cassandra alerted them that there was yet another rift. Chivi rushed to close it while the others continued to fight the surrounding demons. Mai almost immediately fell into position behind her- covering her from some ghastly fear demons. The makeshift sling made fighting nearly impossible now that all of the unrealistic adrenaline from earlier was gone, but the machete-esque blade that it had made sliced through their spectral bodies almost like butter. Though she thought it might be a different story altogether if she tried to cut anything that didn’t come directly from the fade.

Once Chivi closed the rift, Mai allowed herself a look away from her charge and the immediate surrounding. It looked like all the demons had been defeated, and that thought was soon confirmed by both Cassandra and Solas. The former ordered some soldiers to open the gate she’d only just realized was in front of them.

“Whatever that thing on your hand is, it’s useful.” Varric supplied unhelpfully. 

“Yeah, and you make a pretty decent body guard,  _ Da’blar _ !” Chivi threw her arm around Mai’s shoulders and when she protested a little more violently than perhaps socially acceptable at this stage in their acquaintance, Chivi retreated with a look of smugness. 

“I may be smaller than you, but I’m not useless.” She tried not to pout like a child.

“Amen, sister!” Varric praised. That actually drew a giggle from her. She looked up to find Solas’s eyes on her. Gathering all the self confidence and strength she’d built in their time together, she willed herself to look away, and not look like a deer in headlights. Well… the latter was definitely more debatable, but she was proud of that at least. Really, too tired to care any more than that at this point. She was fatigued, and she hurt, and she just needed a nap. They might’ve been used to this amount of total physicality, but she, the 21st century bass performance grad student, was absolutely not- and it showed. 

On the inside of the gates, there were so many more living people than she expected, given the state of everything outside of them. They received stares from most of the men, but they seemed to stiffen up when they saw Cassandra at the helm of the group. From Mai’s understanding, Cassandra held quite an influence over these people, as they were between leaders until the Inquisition formed again.

Soon enough, they sauntered up to a very judgemental looking man, and a woman who- unlike everyone else- she only knew by name. She knew the faces of a lot of the characters Tira obsessed over throughout every playthrough, but Lelianna was a whole different animal. Tira repeated her name over and over, raging and praising and despairing over seemingly every little detail that involved her. Tira most definitely had a little crush on the fictional character- but then again, what could she say? She had always thought the pixelated version of Solas a handsome, alluring man, and now that he was right here with her, she was embarrassed by how badly he put the animators to shame. 

As if invoking him by thought alone, he appeared in her field of view while Cassandra, Lelianna, and Chivi argued with the man ahead. 

“How are you feeling?” He asked somewhere between purely clinical and somewhat curious. She grunted in response. His eyes dropped to her slung arm, and then her sword, and then her arm again. He opened his mouth to say something, but she quickly cut him off, lifting her sword and handing it to him.

“Here. You want to examine it, right? I noticed you took quite an interest in the magic surrounding the rift. The stuff in Chivi’s hand. I doubt this has anything to do with it, but feel free to observe.” Her friendly teacher voice broke free from its cage in her throat. He hadn’t closed his mouth since she cut him off, and it gave her a split second to notice his canines. They were pointy in a way that made her think about how he formed his words when speaking. They weren’t big or sharp enough to make him sound like a kid with plastic vampire fangs in his mouth, but there was a slight… hiss? To words spoken at the front of his mouth- almost but not quite a lisp. She wondered briefly if it had anything to do with his mother tongue being elvhen. Interesting stuff. And he was definitely staring. And she was definitely staring back.  _ Okay. _ He shut his mouth and nodded, turning the sword this way and that in the interest of examining the sides and the hilt.

“How do you think we should proceed?” Cassandra had turned around to ask Chivi. There was no small amount of shock on everyone’s faces.

“So now you’re asking me what I think?” Chivi questioned.

“You have the mark.” Solas spoke up in a weird tone of voice. She wondered what he was thinking right now- as she was sure she always would, as this whole situation was basically by his design.

“And you are the one we must keep alive. Since we cannot agree on our own…” Cassandra hedged. Chivi crossed her arms under her breast and thought. Mai wasn’t exactly of the mind to listen to what they had been saying, but she bet it was a big decision, and she was glad they were letting her take her time. Based on what she knew of the game so far, Chivi had come from being a prisoner and convict to a convict with a purpose to a budding leader. She had to admire her strength and perseverance. Mai wasn’t quite sure if she could do the same in her shoes. 

“Use the mountain path. Work together. You all know what’s at stake.” She finally decreed, and Varric started walking towards it. Almost single file, they followed after, somehow trusting that one of them would know the way. The rotten man they’d been arguing with lifted his eyes onto Cassandra and said something Mai was too tired to comprehend. Luckily, from the looks on both of their faces, she could fill in the blanks; he was being a dick. And this was going to be an even longer journey than this day already had been.


	4. Chapter 3: The Conclave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We journey to the Conclave and talk a little more with the Dreadwolf.

She was surprised she didn’t collapse on the mountain. All things considered, it was not a very treacherous mountain climb- it could’ve been worse. That is to say that, it would have been a nice light warm up to sprinting it down or working out at the top, if she hadn’t just crash landed into the fucking dreadwolf, dislocated her shoulder, fought some demons, got preyed on by Despair and made a whole sword with her body- or thereby an extension of it. She was almost tired enough to consider asking Solas to carry her. Of her four travel buddies, he was the one least likely to tire quickly by doing so. She had yet to be close enough to him to really measure, but he was definitely bigger than her, and definitely stronger. Soon enough, though, they were at the top and her pride came crashing back into her. She became fully aware of her moment of weakness.  _ It would’ve been awkward anyway. _ It was only when they ran into more demons that she realized Solas was still holding onto her sword. She trusted he wouldn’t go out of his way to damage it anyway, so she allowed him to offer it back to her when he needed that hand to use his staff.  _ Do I need a staff now? Could I use this thing as a staff? It would be pretty funny to see some sick ice beams and magehands come out of the top of this tiny little blade- like lead out of a mechanical pencil.  _ She reasoned humorously. 

“This way.” Cassandra spoke when Mai had strayed too far away from the group in thought. She hurried over and tried to keep pace. Pretty soon, Chivi closed the rift and talked to some people while Mai stayed far behind. She was an unknown in this group- in this world- and she needed to be able to blend in and ride back. After that, they came upon a valley bathed in white bricks and scattered debris.

“The Temple of Sacred Ashes… What’s left of it.” Solas said grimly.  _ Oh. _ She grimaced. She’d hated watching Tira jump around and play through the rubble of this- what was effectively a graveyard. Bits and pieces of people stuck up from the ground and she counted five bodies fully preserved and charred, marking the place where they died, faces locked in eternal anguish. She could almost hear the frantic whispers of prayer and screams that ensued in these people's final moments. Whatever emotion was strongest here, it was thick and palpable. She'd never experienced anything like it. Of course, she'd caught the odd comment of people in her world having mental breakdowns in the middle of old plantation houses- saying they could feel the anguish and despair in the atmosphere. She'd never really been one of those people, but this gravesite was enough to make her understand the feeling. She felt very sick. She wondered if it had anything to do with the Veil being thin here. Either way, she was ever thankful when Chivi caught her about to double over in pure grief. She kept a hand firmly around her good arm, but said nothing. 

“This is where you walked out of the Fade and our soldiers found you.” Cassandra was clearly addressing Chivi. “They say there was a woman behind you, but no one knows who she was.”  _ Except me. _ Maiuma thought somewhat unpleasantly. They were out of the worst part of it as soon as they’d entered, but now before them was the biggest, most luminescent rift Mai had actually laid eyes on in this world. Yet another thing the game did no justice. Lelianna arrived soon after with a small group of men, who dispersed at Cassandra’s order. She stepped in front of Chivi.

“This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?” She spoke. Chivi took a deep breath and looked up at the breach. 

“I’ll try, but I don’t know if I can reach that- much less close it.” Chivi centered her gaze and Solas said something to counter her, but Mai’s eyes sank. There was no way she was getting anywhere other than exactly where she was. Not with this sling. She couldn’t jump, and she sure as hell couldn’t climb. She was preparing herself to be a hindrance yet again when Solas came into her field of view- which was rapidly becoming a common occurrence. 

“A word?” He asked. _Curious_ _ wolf. Why would I say no? _ She nodded. He reached for her neck and hovered for all of two seconds before unraveling the makeshift sling at her neck. She flinched away once she realized what he was doing. 

“What are you-” But it was too late. The scarf fell from her arm and left it swinging into its natural position by her side. She winced and braced herself for more pain than what actually came. It was sore- very sore- but fine. Nothing she hadn’t experienced before. “How did you...?”

“The burst of energy that came from you earlier may have granted you a sword first and foremost, but it also healed you some. I saw you push the sword into the Despair demon with both hands and assumed it couldn’t have been hurting you too terribly. While you are not entirely up to the mark, shall I say, you should be more than alright to climb around a little.Your swordhand is your right anyways, I think.” She should have known he was speculating and forming hypotheses and running experiments all in his own head about her outburst since it happened. _So he’d known all along that my shoulder was fine, but didn’t say anything?_ She looked up and caught his eyes for the split second there seemed to be humor in his expression. 

“I… Thank…”

“This should do to keep you useful.”  _ And there it is _ . She nodded and turned on her heel without another word, scooping up Chivi’s scarf in the process. She went to wrap it around her head instead to keep it out of the way and on her person, but she found her head in a scarf already.  _ I wonder if it’s socially acceptable to wear head wrappings all the time. I mean, elves don’t even wear shoes, so I feel like I ought to be fine… right?  _ She had perceived some pretty odd looks in the past few hours, but to be fair, there were plenty of other things about her person to be quizzically intrigued about. She was literally wearing an oversized hoodie with a big dragon running across the front of it. Thankfully, it was all embroidered, so she wouldn’t have to explain the marvels of plastic lettering to anyone. She wondered for all of a second if her fuzzy socks and birks were enough to keep her from losing any toes.  _ Best not think of it until I can do anything about it.  _

Once they were all down in the courtyard in front of the rift, they began hearing voices. Of course, the voices of Justine, Chivi, and Corpheus. She had to admit, it was a lot more haunting and intimidating in person. Cassandra, Solas, and Chivi began discussing the memory and Mai took the opportunity to really get a good look at the rift. 

It was a shade of green that was very hard to put into words. It glistened and pulsed like an ugly star; its crystalline body flowing with endless fluid energy. It’s shape continuously shifted and new crystals formed just as old ones were sucked back into its core. The mark in Chivi’s hand flared dangerously, as the rift warped time and space around it and the vision of Chivi at the conclave appeared. Wisps of energy cascaded off of the rift idly, curling around the physical things they touched, and effortlessly flowing in and out, as if on a breath. Solas described their best plan of attack and everyone stood in formation, awaiting whatever the rift would throw at them. 

She’d almost forgotten how this next part went until the magic in Chivi’s palm connected with the rift and the air around them staled. The flow of the olivine energy off the rift staunched for but a moment and everyone flinched as it sent a spark of itself hurling toward the ground, directly into a group of Lelianna’s troops. The resulting creation was a big, grey beast with seven eyes that she could see, two massive sets of horns, and spikes on every inch of its dense body. It touched down solidly, causing the earth under them to tremble violently, and crackled to life with a blue energy, different to that of the rift. She cursed the game creators that didn’t exist in this world.  _ Thanks, I still hate it.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the less climactic chapters, but still important! We're finding out a lot about Maiuma as we go. Next week's chapter is considerably more action-y. 
> 
> P.s. I'm thinking about weekly updates for this fic. It seems like a nice pace, and every Monday seems to be the move for now.
> 
> Please feel free to leave comments and questions in the meantime.  
> See you then!


	5. Chapter 4: The Pride Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pride demon awakens. How will Maiuma cope?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I just realized that I haven't cited any sources for the Elvhen I've been using.  
> 100% of the Elvhen that I use comes straight from Project Elvhen by FenxShiral. There will be exceptions when I start jumping off the ledge and inventing words for my own purposes, but you will always be able to find the roots of words and conjugations of things there. 
> 
> There will also be a lot of other languages involved in the narrative, because Maiuma and Tira are dorks and they just kind of know a lot of random stuff, but whenever I do include those things, I will always try to put them in the end comments so you're not in endless suspense. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The Pride demon she'd watched Tira fight so many times before erupted into existence and roared, baring its gnarly fangs to the cold air. She remembered this creature had been almost impossible to defeat in hard mode. She didn’t have enough time to wonder just what “mode” they were living in now, as the big brute cracked its blue whip of electricity straight for her. Chivi barreled into her just in the nick of time. 

“What are you doing,  _ Hallain _ ? Get your head back on- this is a fight!” She hadn’t heard that word from Tira before. She nodded and helped Chivi up.

“The rift. I’ve got you.” She rolled her shoulders and back stepped in that direction. Chivi didn’t look back. Mai kept her eyes on the Pride demon as the others danced around it, hardly even scratching at its iron-like defenses. The rift crackled and immediately, she heard surprised shouts and saw demons flooding through.  _ Not good. _ A Despair appeared right in front of her and startled her into back-stepping shoulder to shoulder with Chivi, who stayed on the rift as long as she could before they were flanked. “I could use some help,  _ Felandaris _ !” She yelled as she thrust at the second demon that tried her. Bringing it down in a couple of swipes, she took a deep breath and centered herself. With her newly replenished limb, it was time to use all that showy swordsmanship she’d learned from her time in taekwondo. She took a step and advanced, feeling Chivi move with her. She went through a couple of the basic forms to acclimate herself, ending in a less than graceful kiyup. The motions were fluid enough, but were sewn together in a hasty quilt of “stab here, cleave here, side-step, pivot.” She ended in another, more powerful kiyup that actually seemed to startle the spirit before her- along with everyone else on the field. 

“Why on the Maker’s green earth are you screaming?” Chivi screeched as Mai stepped in front of her and swiped away a shade. The blade was very short and fat, which kept her form far from being pristine as she hacked at the demons. Machetes were perfect for hikes through the rain forest and zombie hunting. Not so much for killing demons with a half-elegant whipping of limbs in a loosely ja bye ru format. 

“Practice.” Was all she managed when she saw another shade headed directly for Chivi’s turned back. She leapt and planted a foot firmly in between Chivi’s, coming chest to chest with her as she reached out as far as she could to impale the spectral being. If only the blade were just a little longer, like a mokgeom- the tip almost reached it. And then it did, and the creature screamed as it fell back. A quick glance at her sword arm revealed a faintly glowing Byeol-ungeom.  _ That’s a legendary sword… Why the hell do I have it?  _ She thought weakly as she stepped further in line with Chivi to lessen the chance of hitting her and brought the beautiful carmine blade down onto the lesser shade. It died in an instant, without even so much as a screech. She relaxed a little and stared at the sacred weapon. 

“So, this is hot and all, but-” She was t _ oo much like Tira.  _ Her face burned in frustration and she stepped back, turning back to the main battle. “That makes twice now, huh?” She asked and then ran back into the fray. Was she seriously keeping count of how many times Mai saved her life? This was the Dragon Age! That would happen a million more times before they did what they had to do! Regardless, her head spun around when someone’s voice cried out. Varric lay on the ground beneath the Pride demon, who looked ready to tear him apart. Mai broke into a sprint just as Solas was rushing over to aid him and threw the Geom clean through the air, hoping to every star and higher power that it would at least halt it long enough to get Varric to safety. The behemoth reeled back in a sharp cry of pain and turned to her menacingly as the long sword stuck into its side.  _ That wasn’t a very good idea.  _ Her blood ran cold as she took three steps back and the creature stepped forward. Her only weapon was sticking out of the side of the thing. 

“If ya got another one of those berserker blasts, Flora, we’d love to have it!” She heard Varric joke- she hoped he was joking. 

“I told you, I have no more of that energy left! I can’t just do it on command!” She narrowly dodged a crack of the creature’s whip. “This isn’t a video game.” She said under her breath.  _ Wait.  _ This wasn’t a video game anymore, but it was at one point, right? How did Tira manage to beat this thing so quickly? She figured out there was some kind of weakness she could extort and clung to it so ruthlessly that it seemed like she was always cheating… What was it? She heard the rift crackle and saw the monster’s shoulders raise slightly.  _ The rift!  _ “Chivi!” The pale-haired woman looked at her with curiosity, downing an enemy in the next breath. “The rift! Get back on the rift! That’ll weaken it!” She really hoped she was right. Chivi nodded and dashed over to it. Luckily someone else had earned the beast’s attentions by then, so Mai joined her. 

She had no idea if handling demons with her bare hands was anything but foolish, but she really had no choice as another shade approached her charge. Why was no one else concerned about guarding the Herald? She was their only hope of salvation, for Pete’s sake!  _ Because you’re doing it.  _ She cursed as she realized Chivi had a sword on her back that she wasn't using. Mai took it and rung the shade through, kicking it off of the blade as she heard the rift flare and the Pride demon scream bloody murder. She pivoted in the direction of the noise to find the demon’s cold gaze on her once more, and more so on Chivi’s back. The demon seemed to put two and two together and barreled toward them with a blood curdling snarl. Before she could react, Varric appeared out of nowhere and knocked her to the side- putting him right in the way of the monster’s next step. The creature stomped on him without another thought and grabbed the Herald up in its massive, sharpened claw. Mai panicked as she looked between Chivi and Varric- propriety be damned- her friends! She scrambled to get any sort of leverage with Chivi’s sword, swiping furiously at its legs and unused hand, to no avail. Chivi cried out as it choked the life from her and Mai felt something within her loosen. The same something that loosened earlier. 

She’d had enough of the melodrama of losing the people she cared about. This was enough. She might not survive, but damn it, Chivi was going to, and they were going to close that rift and save the world. She barely noticed herself becoming wreathed in flame as she reached her hand out and summoned the blade in the monster’s side to her. She wasn’t even sure how she knew it would come to her, but she did, and so did it. The blade zipped straight to her hand, not even bothering to leave the demon as it sliced itself a path across. The monster screamed in outrage and tried to grab at the sword, but it was too quick. She gripped the hilt with unprecedented fury and charged at the monster. 

Somehow, she ended up horizontal, with her feet planted on its chest. With a great force, she kicked it clear out of the way of the rift and she was vaguely aware of Chivi resuming her ministrations on the wound in the sky. While she did, Mai landed gracefully on her feet, watching the monster hobble to the side and then come at her again. She slipped underneath its legs and swiped her blade along one of them. The monster hopped and transferred its weight to the other- clearly weakened. In that very moment, Mai swiped powerfully at the other, feeling all the monster’s weight shift forward. It collided with the ground with a sickening crunch and screeched out in anguish. 

As she climbed up the great beast’s back, she thought that she could feel the emotions of the spirit inside.  _ Faith.  _ A tiny voice spoke to her. A spirit of Faith. She was barely conscious of her body moving to straddle the shell of the spirit, when she thrust her sword into it and twisted, sending all her faith into its very core. Her faith that it was all going to be fine. Faith in herself. Faith in Chivi, the Inquisition, and everyone in it. Faith in this world, itself. She had no idea what she was doing, or how it just seemed… Right, but as she did, a feeling of kind warmth spread through her- of more Faith. The spirit’s. She looked up to see the spirit in question regarding her with curious, but immensely warm eyes that just as soon disappeared. When she pulled the sword out, she felt herself slip off of the giant body sideways and was acutely aware of arms catching her. A familiar rumble in her chest. A slight lisp in her ears. And then there was nothing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!  
> I know I just said I'll be updating every Monday, but seeing as it's Halloween and the last chapter was a little short, I figured I would give you a little more of the story tonight. It is also very seasonally appropriate, as Pride demons are generally very spooky, and so are mystery Fade powers that allow you to go ham on 'em.
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Da'blar- Little Flower. I believe this is a term of endearment among the elves, but it is fairly self explanatory anyway.  
> Felandaris- This is the name of a common plant in DAI, but in elvhen also means "Demon plant". My first association of these two words put together was definitely a weed, but I figure Mai wanted to juxtapose the nickname "Little Flower" with something a little more mean.  
> Ghi'lan- A guide or teacher.  
> Hallain- An endearment of sorts. "Little Halla" technically. Chivi uses this in place of Da'Blar because Maiuma is being especially clumsy and cute.
> 
> Korean:  
> Kiyup- I believe this one has some different spellings, but this is basically just a short shout at the point of contact when you're fighting someone. It is meant to startle your opponent and give you a little boost of energy.  
> Ja Bye Ru- This is a specific discipline within Tae Kwon Do. I can't really explain it past that.  
> Mokgeom- A practice sword. The wooden ones you always see people fighting with in competitions and stuff.  
> Byeol-ungeom- A real sword! It literally means "Cloud-splitting sword". This specific kind of sword was only known to be carried by the king's two body guards in the Korean Joseon period. All of this is super irrelevant to the plot and a very convoluted way of saying that Maiuma is a straight up nerd. The sword, itself probably took the form of a particular image she's seen of such a sword, because otherwise, they kind of just look like regular geoms. 
> 
> Anyway, have a nice night, everybody, and please please please continue to keep yourself and your loved ones safe during this weird and volatile time!
> 
> P.S. Your regularly scheduled chapter is still set to be published on Monday.


	6. Chapter 5: Fake Vallaslin and Demonic Lullabies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chivi is curious and sometimes Mai is a coward.

Mai opened her eyes before she could form any coherent thought. She flipped up and immediately clutched her torso in pain, and immediately after clutched her left arm in more pain. She felt a body next to her stir and saw snowy blonde hair and hazelish eyes marred by a faded tattoo of some sort on the left one. She had a few scars that Mai hadn’t noticed before she lost consciousness- particularly around the curve of her jaw- but those could’ve been from anything at any time. Regardless, she was alive and conscious. She could see that the elf was also examining her in much the same fashion. Without warning or premeditation, both threw their arms around one another- avoiding as much pain as they could from the action. Mai let out a sigh of relief as she let go. They were both alive. Did that mean they’d done it? Was the rift closed? Chivi’s eyes stayed neutral for all but a moment when she seemed to notice something about Mai.

“You’re a redhead?” She chirped. A very familiar sound. Mai instinctively looked up as her hands grabbed at her tangled, curly locks, and then she looked around. They were in a bed that would’ve been very uncomfortable if either of them were any bigger. There was a candle lit by their bedside, though there was bright and noticeable daylight outside. The walls were wooden and there were little animal pelts stuck up on them. A few more odds and ends coexisted in the otherwise empty space. A live raven in a cage, among them. 

She was brought out of her thoughts once more by a finger running along her left arm, and then a whole hand, and then two whole hands on both arms. She looked down to see Chivi tracing her vallaslin.  _ Fuck.  _ She blanched.  _ Fuck fuck fuck fuck. Where are my clothes? This can not be happening. I have the FUCKING Dreadwolf’s vallaslin on my arms! In front of an elf!  _

“Is this Fen’harel’s?” Chivi didn’t seem upset or offended. Just curious, really. “I thought you said you weren’t Dalish?” She continued. Before Mai’s brain could catch up to her tongue, she replied on impulse and technicality.

“I never said that. Actually, I never said anything at all.” Chivi smirked, though her eyebrows remained drawn in curiosity, as they did pretty often around Mai. She saw Chivi’s lips twitch, clearly forming a retort, but footsteps at the door made them straighten. 

“Oh!” A young elven woman, younger still, than the two of them exclaimed as she dropped a box of materials. She had pretty, chocolate brown hair, only reaching the sides of her ears and the scruff of her neck. Her sun-touched cheeks glowed slightly with a red hue when her eyes slipped between their bodies. Mai and Chivi immediately pulled away from one another and she continued. “I didn’t know you were awake, I swear!” She dropped and began gathering the fallen goods. Mai quickly moved to help her. Chivi’s voice suddenly took on a graver tone. 

“Is this another prison?” She demanded. The younger elf stammered greatly but pretty much confirmed that it wasn’t. “Then where are we? Tell me.” The grit in her voice scared Mai a little. Where it was once kind and warm, it now hung low and domineering. If anything, it was good to know she already had an Inquisitor voice handy. Suddenly, the younger elf fell further to her knees in a bow. 

“I beg your forgiveness and your blessing. I am but a humble servant.” She pleaded. Mai laid a hand on her shoulder in what was meant to be encouragement. “You are back in Haven, my ladies.” She looked up shyly into Mai’s eyes. The young woman had bright olive eyes, almost like her own that poured life into Mai. “They say you saved us. The Breach stopped growing, just like the mark on her hand.” She kept her sparkling eyes on Mai’s. Why was she speaking to her like she’d closed the rift?  _ How did I save anybody but myself? _ She turned to see Chivi examining her hand, which crackled and fissed with Solas’s chaotic energy. “It’s all anyone has talked about for the last three days.” Mai knew this was part of the game’s dialogue, but she couldn’t help but blurt out ahead of Chivi. 

“So the rift is closed. The danger is over for now.” The younger woman nodded. Mai leaned back away from her, noticing she had been very close this whole time. 

“The Breach is still in the sky, but that’s what they say.” The woman rose to her feet, the crate of materials long forgotten. “I’m certain Lady Cassandra would want to know you’ve awakened. She said, ‘At once’.”

“And where is she?” Chivi began to rise from the bed. 

“In the chantry, with the Lord Chancellor. ‘At once,’ she said.” The woman hurried off, obviously scared by Chivi’s advance- which was just getting up to do what she said, for fuck’s sake. Chivi looked down at Mai. She walked over and gave her a hand, which she took gratefully. 

“Have you seen my hoodi- my… cloak? And my scarf.” She caught herself. Chivi gave her a once over. 

“We are nowhere near done with this conversation,” She gestured to the henna on Mai’s arms, but with a sprinkle of humor in her tone that made Mai forget she was deathly afraid of her reaction. “And yes. They were right next to you.” She said, walking over to retrieve her armor and outer layers. As soon as they’d replaced their clothing, and Mai had tied her scarf back around her head, they were off into the world. 

Suddenly, Mai’s stomach filled with dread. As they came out into a bright courtyard, she realized for the first timetime that she had never made up a story to explain how she got there and what her background was. She was sure even if she didn't tell them, they would look into it on their own-come to think of it, especially if she didn't tell them. She should've just followed Varric's advice. 

“Do you think they’re expecting me too?” She asked sheepishly. The elven woman beside her chuckled. 

“Who else? The Dread Wolf?” She joked. Mai sighed. 

“I’m serious,  _ Felandaris _ .”

“So am I! I’ve never seen a Dalish in my whole life with his markings! You’re not pushing me off that stone without some seriously convenient lies.”

“I didn’t think I could get you to let it go if the sky were falling.” Mai breathed. Chivi kept her eyes forward. 

“The sky  _ is  _ falling.” She retorted smugly, but Mai was ready.

“The sky is  _ fracturing _ .” Both women giggled quietly at the gazes they were getting in light of their banter. Or perhaps because of their looks. Or the Herald. The possibilities were endless. 

“That’s them. The Herald and her Bulwark.”  _ There’s no way that’ll stick.  _ She heard more comments of similar merit as they walked through the crowd of people.

"The elves think they're clever, huh? Sending two of their own as a means to our salvation?" 

"That's the Herald of Andraste and her sister in arms!" That was a little closer to the truth, she supposed. 

“If you’re getting opening night jitters, I’ll cover for you.” Chivi shrugged, grinning wolfishly.  _ What an American phrase… _ She thought.  _ Certainly out of place here.  _ Her arms moved of their own accord and found Chivi’s. Her fingers slid down to grasp at the other woman’s and Chivi flinched slightly. 

“You’re kidding?” Mai gaped. Chivi shrugged again. 

“I understand that this is a lot for you. It’s a lot for me, too. But besides that, I’m the one with this stupid thing on my hand.” She stared down at it. “If they want to bitch about the woman who saved everyone’s asses by singing a Pride demon a fucking lullaby, they can honestly shove it.” Mai had no idea where the “singing the demon a lullaby” bit came from, but Chivi’s help was too good to pass up. She needed an out- at least for now- and Chivi was more than willing to carve out an escape hatch. 

“Bless you, Chivi.” Mai brought the back of Chivi’s hands to her forehead in what she knew was a Dalish custom of gratefulness. Chivi coughed and her eyes wandered along every surface but Mai’s face. She was distantly aware of the whispers accumulating as she looked back up and released her.

“Alhashablar Chivon.”

“Pardon?”

“Alhashablar Chivon.” She repeated.

“Holy shit. Is that your name?”

“Maybe. Said I had a longer name, just didn’t feel like sayin’ it...” She seemed shy about it. 

“Wait, “Wild Flower”? And you call me a flower? What nerve!”

“Yeah, well, whatever! Your name is weird too!”

“No, my name is uncommon. Yours is weird and convoluted.” She stated, watching Chivi fume. 

“My parents weren’t Dalish at first! I don’t know, they just thought it sounded good or something…” Chivi scratched the back of her neck. 

“Did they also hate you?” She marveled. This time, Chivi shoved her, but still bore amusement in the wrinkles of her eyes. 

“Fuck you. I’m going in!” She spun on her heels and walked toward the Chantry. 

“Fine!” Mai laughed as Alhashablar Chivon entered through two large doors. She stood in silence for a moment before continuing on, deciding to explore and use this time to carefully- and rather quickly- construct a lie worthy of Lelianna’s ears. Perhaps she was just a humble ap- aposat… What did Solas call himself again? They already knew she was a mage, and she definitely didn’t know enough about the Circles to ever claim coming from one.  _ But being a traveling mageshow means that you know how to use your magic and can get around a forest or two with little to no direction otherwise.  _ Two things she definitely did not have at her disposal. 

So, she was a small town girl from the middle of nowhere, then? If she made up a place they would definitely know that she was lying. Or would they? If it was so far out of reach, they couldn’t check- like on top of a mountain, or on a desolate island? No. She wasn’t an islander, and she wasn’t good with wilderness or extreme cold.  _ Back to the drawing board.  _ She also knew she couldn’t afford to completely make anything up. She’d learnt that lesson the hard way during her first few years of public school teaching. Half truths were much more effective than complete fabrications because there was so much less opportunity for the liar to come up short for information.  _ Damn horny teenagers. _ She also needed to explain the marks on her arms, if Cassandra had seen them- because someone had to undress her to get to her wounds and she dreaded thinking it was Solas.  _ Did he see them? Would that permanently mark me in his little black book? Would he look at me any differently? Surely. I'm a mysterious human with fake vallaslin. He hates humans and the Dalish. _ If she ever saw Tira again, she would pay gravely. That line of thought dispersed into distant vapor as she heard a loud slam coming from the Chantry. 

_ That was quick.  _ She thought, looking to see who had exited the building. Her eyes soon landed on the asshole from before the mountain- the Chancellor, if she recalled correctly. 

He looked at all the villagers consideringly -though he seemed to be furious- and eventually his gaze landed on Mai. It made her uncomfortable. His eyes scrutinized her for a moment too long, settling somewhere below her eyes for an even briefer one. And then he turned and stormed in the opposite direction. She wondered what had been said to him. She remembered that this was when they crowned Chivi the Inquisitor, so Mai shouldn’t have even been on the table for discussion… But the way that he looked at her… Mai clenched her fist, realizing that her sword was nowhere to be found- certainly in the custody of either Lelianna or Solas- and she wasn’t exactly banking on getting it back anytime soon. 

“Hey, Lullaby!” She heard Varric’s voice behind her. She turned to him to see very curious eyes. She narrowed her own. “Let Lucky go in by herself, huh?” 

“Um, yeah.” She cast her eyes to the ground between them. Should she’ve just sucked it up and gone in with her? She was starting to feel worse and worse about the decision. 

“That scared of judgement by Seeker?”

“Are you kidding?” She let out a breath she hadn’t thought she was holding. Varric chuckled, and she could almost see the little 'Varric approves' message in the lower left hand corner. She nodded her head.  “I still have no clue how I got here, and anything I say about it or where I came from would sound like a very elaborate but unconvincing lie. I’m just not ready to be quizzed on every single year of my life by what color my shoes were, and what temperature my bath water was.” She told him truthfully.

“Well, hey. For what it’s worth, I believe you. Whatever you say, you’ll be questioned, for sure, but just know there’s someone in your corner.” He told her and her heart leaped in her chest.

“But you don’t even know me, Varric. I could be some kind of evil, villainous mastermind behind this whole thing!” She spoke incredulously. He considered her for a moment. 

“Well then, just consider it a feelin’ I got about ya.” He shrugged. “Don’t let it be a wrong one.” She nodded vehemently. 

“I will.” She scrunched up her face. “I mean, I won’t. I- wow… I am so bad at this.” The smile Varric gave her was completely genuine, and made her feel safer than she’d ever felt in Thedas to date. He nodded his head to the left, away from the Chantry, and started walking in that direction. She joined him.

“So, Lullaby, how was your sleep of the dead?” He asked a little too cheerfully.

“So I really did sleep for three days, then.” She concluded. He nodded. 

“On and off. That’s not the weirdest thing you did, though.”

“Right. What exactly happened at the rift? I remember bits and pieces, but Chivi said I sang the Pride demon a lullaby or something. Knowing her, that could mean almost anything, though.” She thought for a moment. “But then the young servant woman earlier said that I somehow saved everyone- and she could’ve really been talking to Chivi, but she was looking directly at me as if I-”

“Okay, woah, woah, woah there.” Varric laughed. “You have a lot of questions, then.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Alls I know is that we were fighting this absolute wall of a Pride demon and then your little bolt-blade thing changed shape and you exploded into those pretty flames of yours, knocked the thing over, and killed it. But the funny thing is, before you stabbed it in the heart, you started singing it this lullaby-sounding thing and everything felt warm and… Faithful… for a little while. Then Chuckles barely caught you when you slid off the thing and your sword changed back.” She let the information sink in. 

“To be precise, you somehow managed to revert the demon back into its natural spiritual state and used that exact moment to end its suffering.” A weird half-Welsh accent with a slight lisp hit her ears. The hairs on her arms stiffened and her jaw tensed. _Wow t_ __ha_ t sucks.  _ She thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday!
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Vallaslin- "Blood writing". Designs written in blood upon the face or body of the Dalish, used to denote not only clan, but also the personal signature of that person, as well as the god within the elven pantheon that they have chosen as their patron. During Elvhenan, was the blood writing written upon the faces of slaves. (Mai knows this, of course, which is why she was so against it at the beginning)  
> Akhashablar Chivon- Chivi's full name. The first part literally means "Wild flower" Chivon is not an elven name or word. (It's a Hebrew/Irish name) Like Chivi says, her parents were not originally Dalish, so she thinks they picked something they thought sounded nice together rather than something with some elaborate meaning.
> 
> P.s. I want you all to know that I literally did research for about an hour trying to figure out what kind of accent Solas has and my bets were between Irish and Scottish. Welsh did not even come into the picture until I saw a Reddit thread about it.


	7. Chapter 6: Electric Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma spends a wink of time with the Fade expert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song referenced in this chapter:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAQqQ38ZttA 
> 
> A seriously great soundtrack with a very impactful message. I strongly encourage you guys to check the rest of it. Anyway, this song will continue to be referenced for a while, but I'm not actually sure if I'll link it every time.   
> Let me know if you have a preference. 
> 
> Without further ado, this week's chapter!

“I see you’ve thought a lot about this too, Chuckles.” Varric stopped walking. She turned around to see Solas standing almost a foot from her, hands hidden behind his back, pale eyes shamelessly studying her. 

“Hi.” She tried. “Do you know how I did it?” He shook his head. 

“I was hoping you could answer that question for me.” He was smiling that weird half-smile he usually did, but she could see the gears turning at breakneck speed in his eyes.

“I’m afraid I’ve never… Done that before.” She admitted. He hummed in acknowledgement. 

“Tell me, Lady Mai, were you a mage before entering the Fade?” His eyes were unrelenting. 

“Um. Uh…” The question caught her off guard. Was she supposed to lie or tell him the truth? Would he help her if she did? Was he testing her right now?

“Come on, Chuckles. What kind of question is that?” Varric saved her. “The poor girl’s already been through the wringer a couple times, now. Stop scarin’ her with your existential Fade questions.” Solas eyed her for a little while longer, but let up and cast his eyes over Varric, then to the sky. 

“I apologize, Lady Mai. I was just most curious about the nature of your magic. In all my wanderings, I have never quite seen any like it. You seem to draw on the power of spirits, not unlike a spirit mage might, but your technique slightly differs, still...” He turned back to her. “At any rate, I’m sure you’ve already spoken to the Seeker?”

“Um…”

“Yeah, that one’s a hard no. She’s still talking to the other Fade girl in the Chantry.” Varric answered with no shortage of amusement. 

“I see.” Solas hummed. “Well, I must make you aware that the Seeker wishes me to train you, and see that your magic does not go unchecked.”  _ Shiiiiiit. _ “Your powers are still quite a mystery to us all, and I think she’d like to make you feel less of a threat to the rest of Haven, if she can help it… If I can.” He finished in a vague tone. She hoped she wasn’t shaking on the outside. If Solas was supposed to train her, that meant that he would be the first person to learn her secrets. He would be both her closest ally, and worst adversary. Tira was the one who was good at all the double talk! She didn’t even know what she was supposed to double talk about, let alone how. 

“Don’t worry, Lullaby.” Varric broke her out of her trance. She must’ve looked like a frightened puppy. “You’ll be in great hands. Chuckles here wouldn’t hurt a fly. Just keep his curiosity quenched.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She said a bit more dryly than she probably ought to. 

“Well, I’ll leave you two Fade nugs to it. I got a date lovin’ on Bianca.” Varric winked at her and started walking away. 

“Wait, don’t-” She wanted to say,  _ Don’t leave me with Solas!  _ but forgot that he could still hear her. “At least tell me that meant you’re going to polish it? Like you’re going to polish your crossbow or something that’s not weird?” He just gave her a wave without turning.  _ Damn him.  _ She thought humorously, then turned to face Solas. As far as she could tell, his eyes never left her. She suddenly felt irritated by him. Here she was, cowering at the thought of being so close to the Dreadwolf, meanwhile everyone else was treating him like a scruffy backwoods elf. Maybe she should start treating him like that. There was no reason to be afraid of him. At least not right now. Not when he was so curious about her. She would just have to be tough and give him no reason to think he was under her skin.  _ Let me be brave. _ She pleaded with herself. 

“They’re jade.” She spoke up when he hadn’t stopped staring at her. 

“Excuse me?” He blinked and stood back, apparently now aware of his actions. She smiled.

“My eyes. People always stare because they don’t look like the kind of eyes someone like me should have.” She said honestly, and boy did it feel good to be able to look him in the eyes and be candid! She would have to try more, once she made up a backstory for herself. She’d probably need to borrow a map first, though.

“I apologize. I did not realize I was staring. You must forgive me.” 

“ _ Tel’nu _ , Solas.” She spoke casually. When he looked at her with a light confusion in his eyes, she realized she’d stepped a little too far.  _ Too candid, Maiuma.  _

“I…  _ Dirthas Elvhen _ ?” He seemed genuinely taken aback. She wracked her brain for the right conjugation of the word on the tip of her tongue.

“ _ Dirthan. Da’sulo _ !” She clarified. “I know just enough to walk on the streets of Arlathan without causing trouble, you know?” She said. It was clearly a mistake. His eyebrows rose, but he didn’t speak for a while. 

“I'd heard you speaking with Lady Chivi earlier, but was doubtful that anyone besides the Dalish could still remember even one word of the language. This is a very pleasant surprise, Lady Mai.”

“Just- just Maiuma, okay?” She lightly urged. Despite the deep and intense hole she’d just dug herself into, she couldn’t stand the sound of him calling her Lady all the time. It just felt very out of place and terrible. He considered her for a moment.

“Maiuma.” He spoke deep in his chest, and she shivered. 

“Or Mai- or whatever. Just not Lady anymore. It’s kinda weird for me with adults.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ll call you Solas and you’ll also call me by my name.”

“I suppose that is understandable. Shall we continue then, Maiuma?” He gestured for her to follow him as he turned and started walking in a different direction.

“Where are we going?” She followed anyway.

“To my livings, of course. To procure your crystal blade, more specifically.” He voiced. She breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I thought I would never see it again. Cassandra seemed like she wanted to snap it over her extremely powerful thigh when I got it.”

“Yes, well. I managed to snag it in the name of research. I am glad I was able to keep it safe for you while you were indisposed.” There was somewhat of a smile in his voice, but it was so uncharacteristic, Maiuma might have been imagining it. 

“ _ Ma serannas _ .” She thanked. He didn’t look back at her, but she could hear the same weird smile in his voice when he replied. 

_ “Sathem lasa halani.”  _ They walked for a little while in silence, and she took the time to watch Solas. He was a svelte man with broad shoulders and long, slender limbs. His hips were narrow and his gait was even and slow- methodical, even. Much like what she assumed his whole life was after his  _ mor’eral _ . Each and every step deliberate and premeditated a thousand times over. She wondered if he ever grew tired of it. His eyes were fixed ahead, to their destination, but there were definitely still thoughts running through his mind at the speed of light. His brows were forever furrowed, just as they were in the game, and his angular jaw was set rigidly against whatever he was thinking. 

They stopped just in front of the little shanty that she remembered from the game. He had a beautiful view of the bit of open space inside Haven’s high wooden walls, and the mountains just beyond them.

“I would ask you inside, but there is a certain propriety I would be negating by doing so.” He broke her revelry. 

“Scared of some rumors, Solas? I haven’t known you for long, but somehow that seems uncharacteristic.” She let the social part of her brain take control. He thought for a moment.

“No. I suppose not, but you would do well to remember that I am an apostate mage surrounded by Chantry forces, and unlike Lady Chivi, I do not have a divine mark protecting me. The less scandal and attention I attract, the better. And perhaps it is the same for you a well.” She tried to think of the reasons he was wrong. He was the damned Dread Wolf, after all! But she couldn’t shake the thought that he really was as vulnerable as he said. He was in a new world with new rules and restrictions- a lot less power than before. She was almost convinced that treating him like a normal person would keep her from being found out- for now. His gaze softened the tiniest bit, and then he amended. “ _ Sahl, sathan _ .” She nodded and he went into the shanty. She turned her gaze back to the view next to it. Birds flew overhead, scarcely singing their songs, as it was much too cold out. The flags next to the wooden walls flapped and whispered with the wind, mimicking the beautiful, fragrant trees that still bore colorful leaves bathed in frost. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Solas spoke, suddenly beside her. She turned to face him and he kept his eyes on her for a moment longer before setting them loose on the nature in front of them.

“Nature is always beautiful.” She replied, turning back to it. 

“Perhaps it is, a lot of the time.” He reasoned. 

“And here I thought that wandering apostate elves would all have this rich, primal connection to nature. You know, since that’s sort of like your calling card.” 

“Calling card?” He questioned.

“Um… Well, it’s like… What makes someone, them. Like, say… My calling card is always being in the right place at the wrong time. Cassandra’s is usually a sword to your throat. That kind of thing.” From her peripheral, she could see him nod slowly.

“Then yes. I suppose an elven ‘calling card’ would be their affinity for proficiency with the elements. However, I stand by my point that nature is not always beautiful. There is much awry in the world as we know it. Only fools and liars choose not to see it.” 

“Suppose I chose not to see it.” She stared at him until he turned and addressed her. “Am I a fool or a liar?” She challenged him. His expression remained neutral. 

“You are you.” He replied simply, offering her the familiar crystalline sword. She carefully took it from his hands, examining it with open wonder. She knew that he was watching her, but that did nothing to quell her curiosity about the thing. It was exactly the same as she remembered it- still a machete, dragon scales, and the whole nine. 

“ _ Tel’silahn _ .” She mumbled and he huffed. 

“To tell the truth, in as little time as I’ve known you, you do not much seem like the liar or fool type. Perhaps something in between.” He mused. She scoffed and looked up from her blade. His neutral mask was still there. 

“Perhaps.” She agreed. Her eyes caught sight of the other object he was holding to his side. Some sort of leather wrap? He lifted it up to her, and she took them- plural. 

“I er… Noticed that your current footwear is quite out of sorts, since the encounter with the Pride demon, and certainly unsuitable for traveling as we have been. I’d hoped some of the other elven servants in the village might’ve had some to spare you, but sadly, there was no such luck.” She looked down at her literally battle-worn birks. She’d had to completely forgo her socks because they had been completely demolished during the fight. The birks weren’t in much better shape. She looked back to the leather wrappings in her hands and then back to Solas. “They are old, and are not much by any means, but they should suffice- at least until we are provided more supplies.” He rushed out. Why was he going out of his way to do something nice for her when he was just testing her? What was the purpose of giving her his footwraps?

“No, no, no, no! It’s fine! I- Uh…  _ ma serannas, arani _ .” She bowed slightly, unsure if that was an action that would make him suspicious of her. “It is a very kind gesture!” She looked back to the wraps in her hands. “It’s just… I don’t really know…” He seemed to catch on immediately. 

“I see. Then, if you would allow me?” He held his hand out for them. When she handed them to him, he sat right where he was, and she followed. She took her devastated sandals off and cast them to the side, hesitantly putting her right foot in his lap after he gestured for her to do so. As he began wrapping, she tried her best to keep her eyes anywhere but him. He was being a little too nice to her. She remembered that in the game, it had taken him weeks to warm up to the Inquisitor enough to even joke with her. 

“So um…” She wasn’t sure which of them she was trying to distract. “Did you see what I did at the rift? Varric told me, but… When he’s not writing, his recounts of events are kind of unhelpful.” He hummed.

“I am also of that mind.” He agreed. “Well, after the Pride demon almost flattened Varric and strangled the Herald, you faced it one on one, without any help on the offensive or defensive.” She took in a larger breath than she meant to. “Somehow, you’d downed it in the few moments it took me to revive Varric, and plunged your sword into its back, releasing the spirit of Faith inside.” He finished wrapping up the first foot and reached for her left. “Oh yes, and you sung. Something about a field and the morning. Beyond right and wrong, if I recall.” He said. She thought about what kind of song that could’ve been. Her eyes widened and her face burned. 

“Wait, did it sound like, “ _ Beyond right and wrong, there is a field. I will meet you there.”  _ She sung for him. He nodded.

“Yes, exactly that. Am I to expect it wasn’t semi-conscious gibberish born from your unpredictable state?” Solas inquired. She wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole. She stabbed a Pride demon in the back while half-conciously singing Dave Malloy’s fucking Octet at it, and a Faith spirit popped out! That was the most suspicious and embarrassing thing that could ever happen in Thedas! “ _ Re banal _ , Maiuma. We are all very grateful that you saved us. Without you, Lady Chivi would’ve been pulverized, and none of this would be happening.” He smoothed. “However, as perhaps the only one here who will accept whatever answer you give, I will need to ask you again, did you have magic prior to coming out of the rift?” Her blood ran thin. She didn’t know what she should say to that. He was the only person who would see through her bullshit instantly, but the only person, like he said, that would help her either way. She decided that she didn’t want him to know that she just got these powers. 

“I… I wasn’t raised like a mage.” It was technically not a lie.

“Ah.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “But you had magic?” She didn’t answer, hoping that her silence would prevent her from having to lie, and also give him the answer he wanted to hear. “Then you are just an inexperienced mage who did not receive training in a Circle.”

“Well, it’s kind of hard to get to a Circle from the island.” Why did she say that?  _ So we’re going with the islander thing, huh? _

“I would avoid letting that information pass Cassandra’s ears.” He mused. At least it sounded like a musing. Maiuma wondered if telling him the alternative would’ve been any safer than painting herself as the number one public enemy- a powerful untrained mage of unknown origin. “So you’re an islander.” He changed the topic as he finished wrapping her foot. The wraps were surprisingly warm and comfortable. Even her toes were decently warm in the chilly weather.  _ Magic.  _ She thought.  _ So that’s how he walks through the mountains practically barefoot. _

“I’m from somewhere called Ohio. No one here has probably ever heard of it, but it was my whole world until now.” Once again, not entirely untrue. She hoped that he didn’t know a lot about islands, and that there were no kingdoms or weird towns by the same name here. She was in Thedas. Quite literally, anything was possible. 

“I suppose your people miss you.” He probed. She knew exactly where this was going He was curious about her, but she couldn’t let him get anything else out of her- not until she’d made up her mind about who she was in this world.

“I would have no way of knowing that, would I?” She bit. He seemed to realize that he’d overstepped, but said nothing more. “Look, when I used my magic… three days ago, I was on fire. Does that kind of thing happen often? If I can avoid it, I want to not look like a burning house every five seconds.” She admitted. There was a tiny glint in his eyes. 

“No, it is not common. I cannot say I have ever seen it before unless the person on fire was being purposely kept that way.”

“But don’t everyone’s eyes glow when they use magic? Isn’t it just like that? I just need to know how to limit it to one part of my body instead of all of it?” She questioned. Just then, he leaned forward.

“Look into my eyes.” She did as she was told. He was so close, she could see all the darker flecks in his grayish blue eyes. They reminded her of grey- blue agate. The kind that the coffee table back home was made out of. Suddenly, he threw a hand up beside her face and discharged some sort of blast behind her. She startled and tried to jump to the side, but his hands came back and held her head steady. He was even closer now, but she could definitely see how the use of magic affected his eyes. An electric blue film obscured all the natural colors in them before fading into a bright purple, and then slowly settling and dissolving into a distant glow. “That is how it should look after you cast.” He spoke, and she could feel his breath on her lips. Instinctively, she licked them, and his eyes followed for the briefest of moments, and then he let her go. “You, however, were wreathed in flame. We shall investigate further at another time. Tomorrow, at noon, perhaps?” He got to his feet and offered her his hands. She took them, bending down to grab her long-forgotten birks. 

“I guess I have nothing better to do.” She tried and failed to find an excuse for why she wouldn’t be able to.

“Solas,” She heard Chivi’s voice from behind her. She turned and Chivi threw an arm over her shoulders. “ _ Da’Blar.” _ Maiuma rolled her eyes. “Got a sec, or is this a bad time?” Chivi asked. Maiuma shrugged and looked back at Solas.

“I think I’m going to go uh… Do something that distinctly is not this.” She removed Chivi’s arm and turned to leave. 

“Hey, I got us a new room while you were out hiding from Cassie.” Chivi told her. “Just meet me at the old place and I’ll take you there.” 

“Noon,  _ Isenasha.”  _ Solas said to her. She just nodded and kept walking back toward Chivi’s and her old shared quarters.  _ Did he just call me a dragon? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday!
> 
> Elvhen:
> 
> Tel’nu- An invented phrase (by me), lit. Not pain. She means to basically say "No problem".  
> Dirthas Elvhen?- Do you speak Elvhen?  
> Dirthan. Da’sulo!- I speak (Elvhen). Da'sulo is another invented phrase. lit. Little undetermined number. So in a way, it loosely translates to "Some small amount or number" basically a very round about way of saying "a little". Because I couldn't find it anywhere.   
> Ma serannas- Thank you.  
> Sathem lasa halani- A formal way of saying you're welcome.   
> Mor'eral- A very weird and incorrect way of referring to Uthenera. I put this in here under the assumption that Tira and Maiuma (mostly the former) would joke about and use words in Elvhen incorrectly, just like we tend to do with English. This literally translates to "big sleeping"  
> Sahl, sathan- A moment, please.   
> Tel’silahn- Yet another- you guessed it- invented phrase. Lit. Not-answer. She means to say that he did not technically give her a real answer.   
> Arani- Friend/ friendly person.  
> Re banal- It is nothing. I wanted to say "Don't worry about it", or something more regular like that but sometimes little word do just good :)  
> Isenasha- Now we finally get the title of the story! This is also a word that only slightly exists in Elvhen. It'll be explained a little bit later in the context of the story, so I won't say what it is just yet ;)
> 
> And that's it!   
> Let me know if I missed anything, and keep asking questions! I love to talk to you guys!  
> See you next Monday!


	8. Chapter 7: Demon-purifying Expert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma wakes up and thinks. Chivi offers to commit fraud.

Maiuma woke up at the ass crack of dawn, as she always did back on Earth. When her eyes opened, it seemed like she was alone in the little cabin she shared with Chivi, but she could still hear faint snoring coming from her right. She turned and looked over the side of her bed to find Chivi, having somehow slipped off the other one. Maiuma rolled her eyes and stretched out. Walking over to Chivi, she loosened her hair from her scarf and slung it over her shoulders. 

“Chivi.” She called quietly. Chivi didn’t stir. “Hey.  _ Felandaris _ .” She shoved Chivi’s thigh until her limp body fell to the other side. 

“What?” Chivi said without opening her eyes. 

“Get up. You fell off the bed.” Maiuma offered her hand as Chivi’s eyes rolled open. When they found her, Chivi’s lips drew into a smile.

“Hi, beautiful.” She drawled, taking Maiuma’s hand. Maiuma gently guided her back into bed, tucking her in. “Thanks.” She barely whispered as she drifted back into the realm of dreams. That was called the Fade, here, wasn’t it? Was that where people went when they slept? Or was that just where all the magic was? Did the dead go to the Fade too? Which part? 

She decided that these were things that she probably ought to know before noon today- along with where she was from and who she was in Thedas. She settled somewhere in the middle of the room and took off her hoodie. Putting herself into a meditative position, breathing steadily in and out before setting her mind to work.

_ First thing's first. I told him I was from Ohio. I told him Ohio is an island in the middle of nowhere.  _ She tried to think of any better excuse than that, and found herself short.  _ Ohio island it is, then.  _

_ Secondly, I wasn't raised like a mage. That should justify me knowing very little of the Fade and how to use my powers. I just have to be very careful.  _ She wasn't sure what she should be careful of, or how to do so, but she would try tirelessly anyway. She had to. 

_ Thirdly, I speak Elvhen. Shit! I'm a human who speaks Elvhen. Wait, I am human, right?  _ She hastily reached up and pushed her curtain of hair back to finger her ears, pleased with the roundness.  _ Okay, so nothing has changed except my ability to do magic.  _ So why did she speak Elvhen if she wasn't an elf? She definitely couldn't tell them she spent a whole month using Tira as a guinea pig for her music teaching theories and as recompense, Tira made her learn a fake language from a video game. 

_ Well, America is a melting pot, isn't it? In Ohio, it's not so uncommon to hear an American speaking German- or someone who hangs out with a lot of Spanish speakers speaking Spanish with them. So I'm a non-Elvhen speaker who hangs out with a bunch of Elvhen speakers?  _ Solas had been rightfully surprised that she spoke Elvhen, and he told her that no one but the Dalish spoke a word of it. Would it be possible for her to grow up around Dalish and ex-Dalish elves in the same place? She could tell them that her island was made up of misfits from all different nationalities and races. This was also technically not a lie.  _ What else?  _ She thought.

_ Hi. My name is Maiuma Yliqi Frye. I am from Ohio island, which is made up equally of humans, non-Dalish elves, Dalish elves, dwarves and… What was the other race here again? It was something with a Q, right? I guess we don’t have very many of them. The official language of Ohio is common, but people also speak their native languages. I know a little bit of Elvhen as a result, along with others. I was not raised like a mage, not because my papa feared that I would be thrown in a Circle… but… But why? Why wasn’t I trained like a mage? Maybe because my father wasn’t a mage and didn’t know how? Does that make sense? Is magic hereditary here?  _ A proper excuse would be that her papa was Tranquil, and she was taken away from him or vice versa, but that simply didn’t happen. She had far too many good, emotional memories with him all the way up until this year that she could potentially let slip. 

So maybe she wasn’t raised like a mage because it was irrelevant to her island. Maybe everyone has magic, or the Veil is very thin there, so everyone just kind of chilled.  _ That’s so stupid.  _ No one would ever believe that- and if they did, she’d basically be telling Cullen to launch a full-scale invasion on an island of irreverent, untrained mages that didn’t exist. She bet he wouldn’t stop until every last one of them were Tranquil. They would make her Tranquil if she couldn’t convince them she could control her magic. She shuddered violently at the thought. The Rite made jail time- even the electric chair- back home feel humane. She so badly didn’t want to be punished for something she couldn’t control. She’d sung too many of those songs before. Seen the damage of these kinds of situations. If she even belonged here, she’d have half a mind to do something about it. But she didn’t belong here. She didn’t even know why she was here. 

Suddenly, Chivi gasped out in pain and Maiuma’s head spun toward the noise. Chivi doubled over, holding her hand, as the magic of the mark flared to life. Had another rift just opened up? Was Corpheus here already? Was the Veil already crumbling? When Chivi’s pain didn’t relent, Maiuma crawled towards her, and Chivi cursed in more pain.  _ Is it me?  _ Maiuma paused and backed away. Chivi didn’t scream anymore. Maiuma thought for a moment before crawling back over and, as calmly as she was able, she held Chivi’s hand in both of hers. Varric and Solas had said she sang to the Pride demon and they all felt the faith. She wasn’t sure if that was actually true, or if it would ever work again, but she tried anyway. 

“ _ Beyond right and wrong.  _

_ There is a field _ .”

“What are you doing?” Chivi asked, but Maiuma just shook her head and continued.

_ “I will meet you there. _

_ We will lie down in the grass, _

_ Let the morning hours pass _

_ Til the words you and I fall away.”  _ Maiuma could feel something happening. The mark was responding to her-  _ I guess I’m using my magic now. _ She wasn’t sure what she was doing to it, but she could feel her magic coming out of her, and the slightly unsettling feeling of something returning to her. Something flowing back through her veins and into her very being. 

_ “And there’s nothing left to say.”  _ She opened her eyes to see Chivi’s hazelish eyes staring back at her. 

“Woah. I thought only Solas could-” Chivi barely got out before a groan tore itself from Maiuma’s throat and she dropped on all fours. The pain that she felt rivaled any other on Earth. She felt her veins constricting, trying to pass her blood along, and her heart pounded in her chest like a war drum. Something at the very core of her felt like it was being wrung dry, and her head felt like it was about to split. And then it was over as quickly as it began. “Mai?” Chivi called. Somehow, she’d ended up on the floor, cradling Maiuma to her chest like a sleepy child. 

“Oh yeah, I’m fine.” She half-lied. She had no idea what just happened, or why it happened, and it frankly scared the shit out of her. 

“I think maybe there’s a reason why Solas is the only one who can do his weird Fade magic on the mark.” She stated. Maiuma nodded and pulled herself up from her arms. “It was almost kind of cool, though. Like a Lullaby of Healing!” Chivi delighted, and Maiuma’s aching head threatened to bring her right back down to the ground when she rolled her eyes into the back of it. 

“I just thought I’d try something. I hate to see you in pain.” She told her. Chivi smiled.

“Aww. That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” She cheered. Maiuma got to her feet and offered Chivi her hands. 

“Don’t mention it. Really. Don’t.” She smirked. The headache didn’t seem like it would go away any time soon, but at least everything else felt normal. “Hey,  _ Felandaris _ ?”

“ _ Da’Blar _ ?”

“Could you maybe not mention that to anyone? At least for now?” Chivi’s face grew serious, and she could tell she was about to protest. “Solas already told me that he’s supposed to be my new magic teacher, and I’m going to see him at noon. I just don’t want my powers to frighten or… Provoke anyone.”

“You’re scared of them. The templars.”

“Of course I am! Even Solas is scared of them, and he walked right up to the rift at the Conclave like he was going to a party. He also knows that he’s the only one that can help you with the Fade and the rifts. I just… I’m still experiencing my magic and I don’t really have a use here yet.” She said honestly. 

“ _ Da’Blar _ .” Chivi sought her eyes. “Need I remind you that you sang the Pride demon a Lullaby and it exploded and a Faith spirit popped out. Everyone saw it. You’re more valuable to this team than I am… Well, honestly, than I would be if I didn’t have this stupid thing.” She pointed to the mark. “They’re mangy templar soldiers, but they’re not stupid. We need every single hand in here fighting this Breach problem, and as far as I’m concerned, you’re our demon purifying expert.” She grinned deviously.

“I’m really not.”

“Yeah, but, Mr. Grumpy pants hand-fixer is our Fade expert. That makes him invaluable. You are now taking lessons with him, so technically, no one would know if our demon expert was taking tips from him.” Chivi raised her eyebrows and shrugged. 

“Chivi.” Maiuma called incredulously. “You’ve been in a position of relative power for a day, and now you’re creating a scam? Just so I, an inexperienced, and very obviously dangerous apostate mage, can roam the streets free to hurt anyone or jeopardize the mission at any time?” She stared at Chivi. The elven woman averted her eyes and played with her nails.

“You said it, not me.” She said childishly, and Maiuma shoved her with a groan. Chivi laughed and fell back onto the bed. “Come on,  _ Da’Blar.  _ I’m still protectin’ you, remember? Us Fade girls gotta stick together, am I right?” Maiuma thought for a little while before sighing and revisiting her spot in the middle of the floor.

“I guess.” She began her daily stretches, thankful that at least she could have this tiny bit of her old life back- being accosted by an all-too-serious, yet somehow not-serious-enough woman while stretching out her stiff joints. 

“Besides, you still gotta tell me the story behind your  _ laven’fen _ .” Chivi chuckled to herself. “Unless you would rather get that out of the way while we’re here.” She suggested. Maiuma scoffed. 

“Do they have tea here? Any kind? I would greatly benefit from some strong leaf water right about now.” She dutifully changed the topic. 

“Is that code for some kind of fun morning liquor or are you really some kind of stuck-up noble from Orlais demanding her elven servant to bring her tea?” Chivi asked. Maiuma couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hey! You made me your demon expert. Now heed my warnings. The demons won’t be happy if I don’t have my morning tea before I have to deal with your Fade expert. Chop chop.” She went back to her well-practiced stretches as Chivi threw an insult her way and prepared to go find some tea.  _ To think that just four days ago, I was arguing with Tira about our papa, and now I’m demanding the Inquisitor, savior of the known world and companion of the Dread Wolf, to go fetch my tea. Well, let me not waste anymore of my weird and precious time arguing the nonsense of the wheel.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday! 
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Laven'fen- Roughly translates to "Wolf arms", which is the way that Chivi has apparently chosen to affectionately refer to Maiuma's "vallaslin".
> 
> Guys, I'm getting super excited about Maiuma discovering herself and her powers in this world! And usually that wouldn't all happen in a bulk, like it did just now, rather than over time, but for now, I thought Maiuma would sit down and actually plan out some of how she was about to lie to everyone.  
> See you next week!


	9. Chapter 8: Emotions-Dogs and Big Sweaty Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma and Solas learn a little bit more about her magic.

Chivi had barely been able to locate a cup of tea before noon, and it was not what Maiuma’d expected at all. Apparently, Chivi had found her way into the tavern to ask for some tea, but they didn’t have any herbs because ‘nobody on this side of Thedas has time for tea’, so Chivi had gone exploring for some random herbs herself, and came up with mostly inedible weeds, and one very tiny yield of sweet smelling flowering plants. Maiuma was weary of trying a new, never before consumed plant all in the name of one cup of tea, but Chivi swore that she ran it by the apothecary and that he said it would be fine. Knowing that Adan was the closest thing to an herbalist they had in the small place, Maiuma made a mental note of talking to him later. 

She had just arrived at Solas’s small cabin when his door flew open and almost smacked into her face. She stumbled back and he barely caught her before tumbling clumsily over her on all fours. They stared at each other in wild confusion. 

“Why on earth did you open your door so hard?” Maiuma inquired. “Were you hoping to murder somebody?” Solas breathed out curtly in what she assumed was supposed to be an answer before clearing his throat.

_ “Ir abelas _ , Maiuma. I didn’t..” He stopped and she could suddenly feel his wolf jaw pendant lying on her chest. She could smell him, and feel his body, warm and firm against hers. She tried her best to maintain modest thoughts, but all her senses were unfortunately heightened while he was so close.

“Solas,” He flinched, and the hand that had tried to catch her moved, tickling the small of her back, and making her arch into him. “ _ Ea son? _ ” She tried, and suddenly the tips of Solas’s ears turned bright red. He hurriedly got to his feet and used the hand that was trapped behind her to lift her easily. 

“ _ Ir abelas. _ ” He repeated as he brushed himself off and picked up the staff she hadn’t noticed before. 

“You said that.” She smiled at him, despite her loads of discomfort. She had grown used to hiding her displeasure as a teacher, especially when it came to difficult parents. She tried treating this occasion like any other awkward parent-teacher conference in the past, but she knew it was pretty incomparable. She was also sure she was as red as he was.  _ How do I keep ending up lying on the ground with him?  _ She was convinced it was some kind of poetic justice. Perhaps she was just destined to always fall into the Dreadwolf’s arms.

“Your hair. It is different.” He mentioned belatedly, and when she looked at him, his eyes were wandering her features like she was a billboard. “ _ Re gra.” _ She had forgotten that no one but Chivi and whoever had patched her up had ever seen her hair before now.  _ So it wasn’t him, then. He hasn’t seen my stupid laven’fen. At least I have that going for me. _

“Yeah. You know what they say about gingers. There’s no soul in here.” She joked, but he started to look concerned. 

“They say that?” He worried. She’d apparently also forgotten that she was talking to the Elvhen soul whisperer.

“Oh, well, they say that in Ohio. About people with red hair because… Actually, I don’t know why they say that…” She pursed her lips in thought. 

“Ah.” He straightened back up. “A baseless accusation, then.” He justified.

“Hey,  _ felas _ ! It’s a joke!” She shook her head. He slowly nodded and looked away. He was starting to look a little more normal after the unfortunate collision, so she supposed even that awkwardness had been worth it. “Shall we begin?” She said before she could think more about it. “Oh. I left my sword. I can go back and get it, if…” She edged. The truth was, she would go back and get it, she just really didn’t feel like it, and she did not think she could face Chivi’s jeering and taunting right now. Not at this moment.

“ _ Ea’atisha _ . It is alright. I’d hoped we could talk about the magic that is currently inside your body today, anyway.” He ushered a hand in the direction of the open space beside his cabin. “I would take us away from prying eyes and ears.” She nodded and followed him when he started walking. She thought about how to broach the topic of her episode earlier that morning. She couldn’t bring herself to just outright tell him that she was thinking so hard, it caused Chivi’s mark to flare up, and then when she tried to heal it, she basically had a seizure. Sure, she needed help, but she also didn’t want to make him more suspicious, or for him to have any advantage over her- anything to hold over her head.  _ Who am I kidding. He has every single advantage over me. _ She relented. She was better off telling him everything than having it all blow up on her while she was in the presence of Cassandra, or heaven forbid, Cullen. If he so much as smelled any awry magic on her, despite Chivi’s promises, Maiuma knew she was toast. 

“Whatever it is that you need to ask me, you may. I am an open book at your disposal.” Solas spoke from ahead of her. She blinked a few times, trying to comprehend his words. 

“Huh?”

“As it was when we fought the pride demon, you…” He seemed to think of the right words. “ _Tel’vasas_ _ deral’nas . _ ” He spoke. Maiuma pieced together the translation.

“I don’t… a stupid soul?” She asked as they stopped somewhere in the woods just beyond the village proper. He narrowed his eyes at her and his ears twitched down.

“Not exactly. It is something of an idiom.” Solas searched for an answer in the sky. “I apologize, as there are not words in Trade that do it justice, but to put it most simply,  _ deral _ means reaching, or touching. You project your emotions out into the atmosphere.” He told her.

“Like all the time? Do I do it even when I don’t notice?”

“So you have noticed.” He observed. She hesitantly nodded. “Yes. It is not world-bending or catastrophic as it may seem. Every mage has the ability to do so. Some are just more…”

“ _ Deral _ ?” She supplied, and he nodded. “So what do I do about it?” She asked, ready to solve this, so at the very least, she would be able to hide her emotions from him. 

“You let them all out.” He said simply, and his lips quirked up the tiniest bit when her jaw dropped.

“Isn’t that the opposite of what I want?”

“Not necessarily, no. Essentially, there are different methods to learning everything. Some mages prefer to train in solitude. To meditate until the emotions simply fade into themselves and eventually become compartmentalized in the mage’s mind- separate from all other thoughts. Others might be better at letting all their emotions run rampant, but only every so often, they would sprout out of control. There are other ways, as you might imagine, but unfortunately, I can not tell you which will work better for you. It is a very personal process.” He explained. 

“Well let’s not do either of those. What do you do?” She inquired. He handed her his staff and turned his hand over in front of her as if expecting something. When she continued to stare at him, he took one of her hands in it and closed his eyes. 

“ _ Sathan. _ I would show you.” And suddenly she could feel emotions that were not her own. She felt an overall serenity, and an eagerness to help. Then she felt something deep and indescribable. It was like a mixture of deep sorrow and despair, paired with fear, and… loathing? She found that she knew the emotions she was being shown, she just didn’t know them personally enough to really feel them. It made very little sense in her mind, but she could almost liken it to trying on someone else’s coat that was still warm from them wearing it. It felt weird. 

After a moment, all of the emotions were gone just as soon as they’d appeared. Her eyes snapped open to find him still concentrating. “I have always been relatively good at controlling my emotions, and thus, my magic. The rest of my expertise, I’m afraid, comes with age and experience.” He let her hand go and opened his eyes. “Perhaps a solid metaphor for it would be putting your emotions on a leash. Giving them enough freedom to speak to you and guide you, but not enough to rub onto others or drag you into places you do not wish to be.” She shook her head.

“So until I figure out how to tame my emotions-dog, I’m basically just pissing my thoughts out onto everyone within a 10 mile radius.” She deadpanned. He furrowed his eyebrows while considering her. 

“I suppose you could put it that way.” He spoke slowly. “In the meantime, I could sense that you wanted to ask me a question, but were afraid that I would ridicule you. Or perhaps that I wouldn’t understand. What was it?”

“You got all that just from me thinking next to you?” She gawked. He might’ve chuckled under his breath.

“ _ Deral’nas _ .” He reminded her, and she barely resisted rolling her eyes at him. 

“I…” She thought about the fact that she couldn’t really hide from him now. “Earlier this morning, I was just thinking about my home and being away from everyone, and how much I really, really don’t want to be Tranquilized, and,” She paused when Solas put a supportive hand on her shoulder. She realized belatedly that she was squeezing the wood of Solas’s staff like she could snap it in two. “Chivi woke up screaming, and if what you say is true, then my thoughts were affecting the mark. I tried to heal it, or at least make her feel better by trying some of the stuff I used on the Pride demon, and it worked.”

“And…” He edged, obviously sensing that there was more.

“And then I might’ve had a seizure.” She finished. His expression was cryptic at best.

“I see…” He stared at her. “And you are not still hurting?” She took a moment to examine how the rest of her body felt. Nothing was really bothering her, save for the piercing headache that still lingered at the corners of her eyes. She shook her head and he took a little while longer to think about it. “Okay then.” He said, sitting on the spot. “Our first activity will consist of you repeating what you tried to do to the anchor on me.” He said casually. She knelt before him and raised an eyebrow. 

“That’s what we’re doing?” She asked, incredulously. He simply nodded. “Isn’t that dangerous? What if I accidentally explode you or rub on you with my emotions? Don’t I need to settle them first?” 

“I assure you, I am very unconcerned about sudden combustion.” He said with a bit of humor in his voice, though his face was still drawn neutrally. “As for your ‘stupid emotions-dog’, I will need more time to think on how best to counsel you. I am still quite unsure of the nature of your magic, so experiencing it firsthand before formulating an opinion would probably be for the best.” He urged. He lifted his hand to her once again, and watched her expectantly. “So if you would…” She tried to find some excuse as to why they shouldn’t, but everything he’d said was perfectly logical. With a huff, she collapsed where she was and sat the staff down next to her. “Exactly as you tried to do with Lady Chivi.” He reminded her. She took a deep breath and grabbed his hand in both of hers, retracing her steps. 

“ _ Beyond right and wrong, there is a field _ .” She could see him trying to figure something out in his head, but it made her nervous to look at him while she focused, so she closed her eyes and continued. 

_ “I will meet you there. _

_ We will lie down in the grass, _

_ Let the morning hours pass, _

_ Til the words you and I fall away.”  _ Maiuma felt the same thing she felt when she was pushing her magic into Chivi’s wound, except she could somehow feel Solas poking and prodding at it with his own. Trying to figure her out. She wondered what she was actually doing to him since he didn’t have a mark to soothe.

“Focus.” His voice startled her back into her task. This time, she just gave herself to it, hoping she wouldn’t accidentally injure Solas.

_ “And there’s nothing left to say. _

_ I am awake.  _

_ All the world is within me. _

_ There were never two things. There is only one thing. _

_ Everything and nothing might be real. _

_ So I’ll not waste anymore of my weird and precious time,  _

_ Arguing the nonsense of the wheel.”  _ She began to feel that same push and pull, the flow of her magic exiting her and entering Solas, only there was much less of the intrusive feeling of something replacing it. 

_ “Beyond right and wrong, there is a field. _

_ I will meet you there. _

_ Don’t go back to sleep.  _

_ Don’t go back to sleep.” _ She opened her eyes, realising she’d gotten a bit carried away. Solas was still watching her intently. There was something else in his expression, though. Something much deeper than objective observation. It almost reminded her of the emotion he showed her earlier. Then, she felt her body fighting itself like it had with Chivi. Solas was over her in the same instant with his free hand flat over her chest. Before she could even let out a screech in pain, it was gone. Solas quickly pulled away, and dropped to the ground, gasping for air. 

“Wait, did you just take the pain away? Stop it!” She put her hands on his chest and tried to think very calm thoughts. Slowly, his breathing started to normalize. He stared up at her in shock as she briefly laid her head on her hands and tried to steady her own breathing. She stood and put distance between them when he rose on his knees. “Holy shit, man! I knew that wasn’t a good idea! I could’ve killed you.” She reprimanded. He got to his feet, too.

“On the contrary, I learned exactly what I needed to know.” He wiped a hand over his bald head and breathed out raggedly. She raised an eyebrow at him. 

“What do you mean?” 

“You see,” He tried a little harder to get his breathing back under control. “There is great power in the magic you command, but most of it resides in the Fade. Much as I suspected, you do possess the qualities of a spirit mage, however, whenever you try to draw your magic from the Fade, it gives you too much and your body cannot properly adjust. Your inexperience with calling on your magic has caused you to form an aegis around yourself, allowing the energy you draw on externally to attack it trying to come through. The best way to move forward would be to simply reduce the volume of energy you draw on when you cast, or to better mold the embankment through which you receive it, allowing you to process the same amount of energy, just more efficiently.” He rattled off. She remained completely still, blinking up at him trying to let the information sink in. 

“Solas,”

“Yes, Maiuma?” He answered.

“What?” She asked blankly. A small smile broke out onto his lips, but was quickly replaced with his signature mask of neutrality. 

“Maiuma, do you happen to know how best you learn things? Visually? By experience, or likewise?” 

“Um… I’m a visual learner. Yeah, you could like draw me a diagram or something.” She perked up. He seemed to think for a moment before he stepped closer to her and held out his hand, palm facing her. 

“Place your hand here.” He told her. She did as he said. “In other words, this is the Veil, and this is the thing that controls how much magic you can take in at once.” He gestured between their two hands. “When you try to draw energy across the Veil, you draw in as much as possible, and the Veil flexes to accommodate that.” He spread his hand out and a mist of cool silvery energy flowed forth from the spaces in between his fingers. “However, your inlets for the energy are very small and the result,” The energy raced to her hand, but as her fingers were closer together, only a small amount of it made it through. The rest struggled and tried to push through her palm to the other side.

“My seizures.” He nodded. 

“And we could either work on drawing less energy across at a time, or,”

“Opening me up to receive more.” She finished. He nodded again. 

“Preferably, we would start with the former, and work our way up to expanding your access so that the likelihood of you hurting yourself or others is not increased in the meantime. What is your opinion?” He asked as they both watched the energy ebb and flow between their nearly touching palms. 

“You’re the teacher,  _ ha’hren _ . You tell me.” She breathed and he chuckled warmly. 

“I suppose so,  _ da’lan. _ ” He was still smiling when she caught his eyes. “So let’s begin with proper casting technique.” He let his hand fall and turned to retrieve his staff from the ground. “I believe I was incorrect in my assessment that you would not need your weapon today. Perhaps it is best if we postpone for tomorrow, while I develop a curriculum for our studies.” He leaned on his staff. “Unless you would meet me later on today to pick up where we left off.”

“Uh… let’s do the raincheck?” She agreed. He tilted his head and his ears twitched down slightly. She was beginning to think that reading his emotions would be pretty easy, so long as she could just see his ears. “It’s another idiom.” She explained as she started walking back toward Haven. She assumed he was following. “It comes from people cancelling plans when rain or other poor weather makes it inconvenient, so whenever there’s some unavoidable thing that causes you to cancel a plan, you take a rain check and do it later.” He was silent for a while before responding.

“I suppose that makes sense. A rain check it is, then.” She nodded. 

“Oh, Solas.” She called. He hummed in response. “Earlier, Chivi said since you’re the Fade expert and know everything about the Fade- at least more than everyone else here- and I am apparently capable of downing Pride demons by singing to them, do you think that would justify anyone calling me the Demon expert or anything? I haven’t been going around saying it to anyone, but she said that might be a thing.” She asked warily. She heard Solas let out a small puff of air through his nose. The bastard was laughing at her!

“Do you think that would be an appropriate assumption?” He asked her. There was definitely a smile in his voice. 

“I mean, I don’t know! I just thought I might need some sort of title to keep me here just in case people find out about my emotions-dog and my magical incompetence. Anyway, Chivi said it originally, not me.” She excused. 

“Have you not heard what the people of Haven are calling the both of you?” He inquired. 

“I’ve heard them calling Chivi the Herald of Andraste.” She answered, though she’d technically known of the title coming into this world. 

“And yet you have not heard any of them calling you the Herald’s Bulwark?” 

“I heard one, now that I think about it. You don’t actually think that’s going to stick, do you? I feel like I would much rather be the Herald. Bulwark sounds like some huge barbarian man with lots of muscles and chest hair.” She gestured with her arms. The snicker that came from behind her only half-surprised her. “What about the Angel of Death? Or the Enchantress?”

“Indeed, it seems there are other titles that might suit you much better. Seeing as you’ve been conscious for a day and a half, and you’ve already managed to capture the allegiances of three of the foremost players in this race against the Breach.” He told her.

“Wait, three?” She questioned. “Well, I know Chivi was very quick to run to my defense, and Varric is very friendly, but… Of the five of us,”

“Are you so quick to forget about the Fade expert?” He suggested. She shook her head.

“Have I captured your allegiance already? It seems to me like I’ve only ever been a nuisance to you.” She stated honestly. He was being very nice to her, presently, but she’d just brushed it off as him trying to figure her out. Perhaps it could be both. He sighed and strode forward on his long legs, walking beside her with his hands tucked behind his back. 

“I’ve journeyed deep into the Fade in ancient ruins and battlefields to see the dreams of lost civilizations. I’ve watched as spirits clashed to reenact the bloody pasts of ancient wars, both famous and forgotten. Every great war has its heroes. I am just curious what kinds the two of you will be.”

“So I’m a curiosity, not a hero.” She pressed. The smile did not disappear from his words. 

“Can one not be both?” 

“Not if they plan to stay alive.” She told him. He hummed in thought. 

“And yet, here you stand.” He concluded. “Joke as you will, postering is necessary. I would let them call you what they want. Perhaps that will help you remain more hero than curiosity.” She sucked her front teeth and took a deep breath.

“But Bulwark, though?” Solas gave her a full bellied laugh at that. She found that it was oddly pleasant. She didn’t think she’d ever heard him laugh like that in the game.

“Perhaps we shall persuade them all to make use of the title  _ Isenasha _ . It was your first, afterall _. _ ” 

“Technically, that was  _ Da’blar _ , but I’ll be a sexy dragon over a little flower or a big sweaty hunk of man any day.” She giggled. They fell into a comfortable silence after that, the only sound, the crunching of leaves underfoot until they reached the open area beside his cabin. There stood Cassandra in all of her glory. She looked like she’d been waiting very impatiently for them. Maiuma hoped she hadn’t been standing there for too long.

“Solas. Bulwark.” She addressed them. Some part of her felt Solas’s humor lingering at the title, but she was sure his neutral face was back on. “Shall we have our talk now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday! (I know it's kind of late! 10:34pm, as I'm writing this.) 
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Ea son- Are you okay?  
> Re gra- It's red.  
> Felas- Slow, Calm. Maiuma uses it as an imperative here, meaning "Be calm".  
> Ea'atisha- Be at peace, to be peaceful. Essentially, "Don't worry".  
> Tel'vasas deral'nas- An invented phrase. Lit. You do not chain a reaching soul. I'm imagining this is an idiom directed toward people like Maiuma who have very active emotions that bleed into the real world- which was obviously much more common when the Fade was a part of the waking world. Basically, these kinds of people are typically loose cannons.  
> Sathan- Please  
> Ha'hren- Old respected person, wise elder, teacher.  
> Da'lan- Child, young person. The proper response to being called ha'hren.
> 
> A fair bit of Elvhen in this one! Any way, I hope everyone's having a great day. Make sure to keep asking me questions in the comments. I love to hear from you all!  
> See you next week!


	10. Chapter 9: Unknown Mage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma meets the Inquisition's leaders.

“Cassandra.” Solas spoke. She nodded at him. 

“Where is your spirit blade, Lady Bulwark?” Cassandra asked her and Maiuma found that she hated hearing the title even more the second time.

“I left it behind with the Herald.” She hoped that would give her a little bit of credibility. Name dropping was never really a thing she did in Ohio, but if it would help her survive here, she would tell everyone Chivi was her birth mother. 

“I see. Have you begun training her?” Cassandra turned to Solas. He nodded.

“We’ve not had the chance to make much progress, but I believe we are on the right path.” He stated. 

“What do you know about these unpredictable powers?” She continued to ask Solas.

“I am a spirit mage a few years out of practice.” She spoke up. “My command of the Fade is quite substantial, and as you have seen, so is my magic, but I believe it will not take long for Solas and I to train it into relative obedience.” In truth, she had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, but she hoped it sounded good to Cassandra. Maiuma probably knew as much about magic as her at this point. Cassandra looked at Solas for confirmation, and so did Maiuma. If he wasn’t bluffing back in the woods, it was time for him to prove just how deep his allegiance ran. His eyes washed over her face for the briefest of seconds before he answered.

“This is true. Thankfully, she has a decent concept and control of her power already. What we need do is merely perfect her focus while casting.” He lied through his teeth. She marveled at how quick the delicately woven response came to his tongue. It should’ve been concerning, but right now it was a blessing. Cassandra seemed to buy it. She nodded and her shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit.

“And the blade she created?” She questioned.

“It has been said that in the ancient elven art of _Dirth'ena Ena'sal'in_ , many warriors were skilled at producing weapons through immense concentration and energy from the Fade to assist them in their battles.”

“They do not teach that at any Circles I have been to.” Cassandra peered at Maiuma suspiciously. Maiuma froze.

“No,” She began, hoping that her brain would fill in the blank. Luckily, Solas spoke up before the accusation could sprout into more full-blown distrust. 

“And this ability is specifically what we aim to study and make safer. We are well on our way to it, but I suspect it might’ve had something to do with falling out of the rift. She might’ve stumbled upon the ability on her journey through the Fade.” He explained, surprising Maiuma once more by not outing her as an untrained mage. He was making it seem like she just bumped her head on her way down and gained some ancient elven superpowers.

“And I suppose you know more about the Fade than anyone else here... As our Fade expert.” Cassandra stated somewhat bitterly. Solas narrowed his eyes at her and his ears twitched the slightest bit downward. 

“I do.” He simply stated. The two were locked in a stare down for a few moments, seeming to have some sort of nonverbal conversation with their eyes before Cassandra sighed and backed down. 

“I hope you are right about her. And the Herald’s mark.” She resigned. 

“I am.” He confirmed in the same calm, objective tone and Cassandra scoffed, eyes falling once again on Maiuma. 

“We must go. I intend to formally introduce you to the Inquisition’s leaders.”

“The Inquisition?” Maiuma asked.  _ Already? I know they were quick to resurrect it in the game, but it didn’t ever feel this quick. _

“I will explain on the way.” Cassandra turned and began walking before Maiuma could counter. She swiftly pivoted on her heels and bowed deeply to Solas. He was doing her a gargantuan favor by keeping her inexperience to himself.

“ _ Serannasan ma,  _ Solas _. _ ” She hoped that she pronounced that right. When she met his eyes, she could see a bit of humor crack into his neutral facade. 

“Tomorrow at noon,  _ Isenasha _ .” He bowed his head and leaned on his staff. His eyes smiled at her for a moment before they found Cassandra’s retreating form. She looked behind her to see that Cassandra was much further away than she’d thought possible and rushed to join her. Cassandra did not let up her pace as Maiuma caught up to her. 

“The Inquisition of Old was an organization formed following the  First Blight , in order to defend  Thedas from the dangers of magic and heretics.” Cassandra explained. Maiuma already knew that, but she nodded anyway. “The Inquisition later allied with the  Chantry , abandoning its original name and splitting itself into the  Seekers of Truth and the  Templar Order .” That, she did not know. 

“So like two sides of the same coin?” Maiuma reasoned. Cassandra regarded her from the corner of her eye, and Maiuma wondered if it was taboo to say that. It couldn’t be, right? 

“Like two sides of the same coin.” She agreed, very seriously. “In a time past, the Divine Justinia granted us a writ; an authority to act, should the need arise. The mage-templar fighting is one thing, but the Breach is something no one can afford to ignore. A need has arisen, and we are now acting.” Cassandra told her as they reached the Chantry, where Chivi was waiting with a pensive look on her face. As soon as she heard Cassandra’s voice, she turned and relaxed. 

_ “Savh, Da’Blar. _ ” Chivi grinned once they were within earshot. “Enjoy your lesson?” She winked. Maiuma rolled her eyes. 

_ “Telir undalan ish. _ ” Chivi narrowed her eyes, the smile still carving her lips up. 

“But you didn’t, right?”

“Would I be here right now if I had?” She jeered back. Cassandra shifted behind her as Chivi nodded, signaling that they probably shouldn’t be having this conversation in front of her. 

“If the two of you are done, we would proceed.” She spoke, walking ahead of both of them and opening the Chantry doors. “Does it trouble you?” Cassandra inquired when she noticed Chivi clenching her fist.

“Nah. I come from tough stock. Dalish elves are the most resilient species in Thedas.” Chivi joked, but let her smile falter some, staring down at her palm. “I just wish I knew what it was, or how I got it.” Maiuma couldn’t help but tug at the hem of Chivi’s shirt in a gesture of comfort. Even though she barely knew Chivi, she would be here for her if she ever felt less than okay, and she knew it was probably the same vice versa. Chivi smiled at her.

“We will find out. What’s important is that your mark is now stable, as is the Breach. You’ve given us time, and Solas believes a second attempt might succeed, provided the mark has more power- the same level of power used to open the Breach in the first place. That is not easy to come by. 

“What harm could there be in powering up something we barely understand?” Chivi scoffed. Maiuma stifled a snicker at the comment, lest she somehow upset Cassandra, but she barely smiled and starting walking toward the war room.

“Hold on to that sense of humor.” She told Chivi.  _ Got it. So it’s cool when Chivi does it, but a little less cool for me.  _ Maiuma reminded herself.  _ Well, Chivi is a lot less likely to accidentally kill everyone in Haven with the magic in her body, seeing as she has none anyway.  _ When they entered the room, she recognized two of the faces around the table. Cullen and Lelianna were as broody as ever, but they were accompanied by a new person. She looked familiar enough that Maiuma knew she was from the game, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on her identity. “May I present Commander Cullen, leader of the Inquisition’s forces.”

Cullen looked both her and Chivi from head to toe before speaking in a raspy bass, just like it was in the game. Perhaps even a little fuller. All things considered, Maiuma didn’t mind hearing it. 

“Such as they are. We lost many soldiers in the valley, and I fear many more before this is through.” 

“This is Lady Josephine Montilyet, our ambassador and chief diplomat.” Cassandra spoke towards the new woman. Now Maiuma remembered. Though she knew very little about her, she’d definitely seen Tira romance her once or twice before. 

_ “An'daran atish’an.” _ She said to Chivi and Maiuma with a kind smile. 

“You speak Elven?” Chivi asked. Maiuma also found herself curious about it. As far as she was concerned being a human who speaks Elven was kind of a rarity. Then again, people had been oddly accepting of her speaking it, so far. 

“You just heard the entirety of it, I’m afraid.” Josephine told them with a nervous chuckle in her voice. Maiuma smiled.

“And of course, you know Sister Leliana.” Cassandra nodded to her. Leliana’s gaze fell straight onto Maiuma.

“My position here involves a degree of-”

“She is our Spy Master.” Cassandra interrupted, and Maiuma had to fend off a chuckle.

“Yes. Tactically put, Cassandra.” The way that Cassandra and Leliana interacted kind of reminded her of a more mature, watered down version of the way she interacted with her sister, and now, Chivi. She supposed that she just really missed Tira, so anything that even remotely reminded Maiuma of her triggered some sort of deeply rooted yearning for her company.

“Pleased to meet you all.” Chivi stepped forward and bowed her head. Maiuma rushed to do the same. Perhaps she bowed a little deeper than was reasonable, but she felt like that was the least of her problems at this point.

“I mentioned that your mark needs more power to close the Breach for good.” Cassandra told Chivi. 

“Which means we must approach the rebel mages for help.” Leliana spoke directly to Maiuma. She knew that everyone here was still trying to figure her out, and rightfully so. Leliana’s open curiosity was still unsettling. 

“And I still disagree.” Cullen jumped in stealing Leliana’s attention. “The Templars could serve just as well.”

“We need power, Commander, enough magic poured into that mark-” 

“Might destroy us all. Templars could suppress the Breach, weaken it so-” 

“Pure speculation.” Leliana squashed the argument that had suddenly arisen between Cullen and Cassandra. 

“ _ I _ was a Templar. I know what they’re capable of.” Cullen countered. Maiuma was a little too well aware of Cullen’s blind faith in the Order from the playthroughs she watched Tira do. She wondered if he was likely to change his biases if he wasn’t being romanced by an Inquisitor. Was Solas likely to change? She wondered which of the inner circle members Chivi would fall in love with- if she did at all. Maybe this was one of the things that changed just by Maiuma being here. Josephine said something to Cullen and then looked at Chivi.

“Some are calling you- a Dalish elf- the ‘Herald of Andraste’. That frightens the Chantry. And it does not help that you have a highly-powered, unidentified Bulwark at your side.” Josephine eyed Maiuma. She fought valiantly to hold her eyes still. That could not possibly be what they were going with! “The remaining Clerics have declared it blasphemy, and we heretics for harboring you.”

“Chancellor Roderick’s doing, no doubt.” Cassandra stated with clear disgust on her tongue. 

“It limits our options. Approaching the mages or the templars for help is currently out of the question.” Josephine relented. 

“Just how am I the ‘Herald of Andraste’?” Chivi spoke. Maiuma scoffed, causing Chivi to turn on her. 

“You’re complaining?” Her tongue inquired with a mind of its own. “Did you hear what they’re calling me?” Chivi looked to be fighting off a smirk, but stood her ground. 

“People saw what you did at the temple, Mai.” Cassandra inserted. “How you felled the Pride demon the moment she was in danger.” She turned to Chivi. “How you stopped the Breach from growing. They have also heard about the woman seen in the rift when we first found you. They believe that was Andraste.” Maiuma nodded sullenly. If only she could control her powers! She would just be a regular human woman who sometimes fought with the Herald on missions. Instead, now she was the Chantry’s worst nightmare and poster girl of the Inquisition’s political campaign.  _ Calm down, girl. That’s what Solas is for. _ She hated that he was her only hope of salvation at this point. 

“Well, I know how one of you feels about their title.” Cullen’s neutral gaze fell on her. She couldn’t decide if there was a hint of animosity in the comment, or in his expression, but knowing their very different backgrounds, she could only assume there was. “How do you feel about it?” He asked Chivi. 

“How do you think she feels?” Mai countered. She hated passive aggressive people. Well, hate was a very strong word, but it did irk her. 

“I don’t mind it at all.” Chivi answered calmly. Mai pinched her. “Ow! Stay in your lane, Bulwark!” She smiled very slightly at Maiuma. She narrowed her eyes. 

“People are desperate for a sign of hope. For some, the two of you are that sign.” Leliana spoke. Maiuma and Chivi looked back at one another. 

“Really?” They said in unison. Josephine hid a giggle behind her sleeve and Cullen shifted his weight, hand cemented to the sword on his hip. 

“And to others, a symbol of everything that’s gone wrong.” Josephine added. Maiuma nodded.  _ That actually sounds a lot more like it. _

“Will the Chantry attack us?” Chivi became serious again. Maiuma admired her ability to do so. 

“With what? They have only words at their disposal.” Cullen asked, face still drawn neutrally.

“And yet, they may bury us with them.” Josephine griped. Cullen shot her a look. 

“There is something you can do.” Leliana broke the tension in a much lighter voice. “A Chantry Cleric by the name of Mother Giselle has asked to speak with you.” Maiuma pat Chivi on the back with a smile. Although she was just a tertiary character who showed up all of twice in the game, she was wise and kind unlike anyone else in this day and age. “Both of you.” Leliana amended and Maiuma’s face fell. Chivi broke into a short cackle and patted her shoulder. Cullen cleared his throat. She couldn’t say if it was a laugh or not. “She is not far, and knows those involved far better than I. Her assistance could be invaluable.”

“We’ll see what she has to say.” Chivi agreed for both of them. Maiuma’s eyes fell on Cullen again. This time, he appeared more curious of her than anything. He didn’t look away until Maiuma winked at him. She had no idea why she did that other than it was a nervous thing her face sometimes did when she was met with unwanted eye contact. He appeared startled by her boldness and directed his eyes back over to Leliana. If Josephine noticed, she didn’t let on. 

“You will find Mother Giselle tending to the wounded in the Hinterlands near Redcliffe.” 

“Look for opportunities to expand the Inquisition’s influence while you are there.” Cullen refused to make eye contact with her again. 

“We need agents to extend our reach beyond this valley, and you’re better suited than anyone to recruit them.” Josephine told them.

“In the mean time, let’s think of other options. I won’t leave this all to the Herald.” Cassandra said rigidly. “Or the Bulwark.”

“Definitely not the Bulwark.” Chivi said seriously.

“Okay!” She deadpanned at Chivi.

“No, we understand,  _ Da’Blar _ . Mai is much prettier anyway.” Chivi tossed an arm over her shoulders and pulled her in close. “ _ Tath ane inansha _ .” She told her. Maiuma couldn’t quite translate the last word, but she could only guess what Chivi said. She rolled her eyes and pulled out of her grip. 

_ “Vara u’em.” _ Maiuma never thought she’d have to say that to an actual elf instead of her nagging sister, but stranger things had already happened. Chivi gave her a big dopey grin.

“Herald.” Cassandra called as the others started to gather around the war table to make the plans for travel. 

“Duty calls, Bulwark.” Chivi excused and joined them. Maiuma took this moment to hang back and breathe. At least no one seemed outwardly suspicious anymore. Except Cullen. Thankfully, he was miles easier to read than Solas, even without the ears. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, guys!  
> I hope everybody had a safe and happy holiday, because we're jumping right back into the drama. 
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Dirth'ena Ena'sal'in- The Elvhen art of the Arcane Warrior/modern Knight Enchanter.  
> Serannasan ma- A formal thank you.   
> Savh- A super informal greeting. (Short version of savhalla)  
> Telir undalan ish- I almost killed him. (Because for some odd reason, she knows how to say kill, but not the word for attractive)  
> An'daran atish'an- A formal greeting. Lit. The place you go is safe.  
> Tath ane inansha- You're still pretty. Well... Technichally, Still, you are pretty. You get it.   
> Vara u'em- Get away from me. 10 points to anyone who can guess why she knows how to say this in Elvhen.
> 
> That's all for this week! Stay safe out there! 
> 
> Also, if you're not a comment reader, then you might've missed a very good question about Maiuma's ethnicity. So, I had never given much thought to what specific blood runs through the twins' veins, but I've always intended for them to be African American-ish? They strongly identify with the African American community and believe themselves to be some parts Creole and/or Caribbean islander. This does not explain their bright red hair and green eyes, but they have also always chalked those traits up to rare genetics that you sometimes find in the gene pools of mixed people. Simply put... They're just kind of weird-looking no matter where they are, or who they identify with. 
> 
> I hope that shed some light on some things that have been unspoken until now. Please keep sending questions my way! I love to answer them. See you all next week!


	11. Chapter 10: Bassoon Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The piece that I mention in this chapter is Anahita by Roshanne Etezady.   
>  I haven't quite figured out how to link to things in the notes, so the links to the specific movements I used are in the beginning of the story.   
> The weird way I wrote it doesn't flow super well with the music, but if you wanted to listen to it while reading and try to figure out where everything is, please feel welcome to it! In that case, I tell you where the music actually starts in fiction, and there's a general accuracy of where all the different sections are. (Until the 3rd movement. That one, I blame on the Fade being kinda erratic).
> 
> Anyway, this piece is pretty cool, so even just listening to it invokes the feeling I wanted this chapter have.

[Movement II](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSHGeN2Ruaw)

[Movement III](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNWZBaClEPc)

Maiuma was in the raw Fade. She had seen it enough times in the game to know. It was creepy and dystopian, but it wasn’t altogether unpleasant. She found that if she didn’t think about it, it was almost serene. The constant green filter of the Fade’s atmosphere was enchanting in its own way. She wandered through floating rocks and the same green wisps of energy she saw flowing off of the rift at the Conclave. It reminded her of movement II of Anahita- the peaceful and reflective atmosphere of the Fade untouched and uninfluenced by thought or memory. Suddenly, the harp and woodwinds in the beginning of the piece rang out into the open space, as if by her own doing. As the english horn solo began, she stumbled upon a large bubble tucked in between two floating rocks like a doorway. Peering in, she saw the somewhat hazy outlines of people holding hands on a pier. The scene was peaceful and quaint, but there was something about it that made her itch. Something didn’t seem completely genuine about one of the people. It was just a hunch, but the moment the sonority of Anahita began to twist and tonicize, she squinted to reveal that one of the people in the bubble was crying. Somehow, it was like she could feel their pain- their frustration and sorrow. She turned her eyes back to the figure beside them and found not a person- but a spirit in raw form. It was like a human-shaped ball of light. The longer she looked, the more she got the sense that it was a benevolent spirit, but it hurt to look for too long. 

The person beside the spirit turned to it and wiped their face. They smiled at the spirit, and Maiuma turned to give them privacy, only a large despair demon appeared and looked in the direction of the bubble. She rushed behind one of the rocks and tried her best to make her presence in the space as little and unnoticable as possible. She had no idea if it would work, but considering she knew exactly what the creature was after, she thought she might have the advantage- but only if she didn’t have to fight it. She tried her best to summon up vibes of faith and love and… whatever else was the antithesis of despair. When she peaked out from behind the rock, the Despair was still there, sniffing out the negative emotions. In a last ditch effort to save the person in the bubble, she touched it like one would a macbook and it burst into fluid, green energy. She hoped that she hadn’t accidentally killed the person or sent them into hell or something. It sounded ludacris to her, but she couldn’t be sure. To keep her sanity, she preferred to think that the person just woke up. If it even was a real person. Why had she just assumed she was able to see other people’s dreams just because she was in the Fade? According to Tira’s playthroughs, only a select few could be considered ‘dreamers’, and even fewer of them had enough control to lucidly dream outside of themselves to even get to other peoples’ dreams.

Looking to the side, she noticed that the Despair demon had disappeared, probably off to find new prey. It would’ve behooved Maiuma to not wander around aimlessly when she could run into more demons with no way to protect herself, but she became fascinated with another scene just beyond the bounds of her rock field. Her feet carried her over to a new landscape entirely- something a little more earthen. There she beheld a large mountain with a castle built into the side. Evergreen trees littered the ledges on the outside of the castle, and men and women- elves- marched down the side in magnificent armors and robes. Mages at the front cleared paths and built bridges to connect the mountain to another just beside it. The warriors marched in time with the big driving section in the middle of Anahita and Maiuma’s lips twitched up into a smile. The scene before her was awe-inspiring and the world was glittery and full- bright and magical. It was as if she could feel the magic around her and smell the brisk mountain air. This must’ve been the work of spirits seeking to peacefully reenact their favorite moments from history. She’d never felt so… whole before. 

She reluctantly broke away from the scene to search the place for more rare moments like this and the other person’s dream, but not only could she not see anymore, she could sense her space being encroached upon by beings indigenous to the Fade. She didn’t feel any actively vicious presences, but it was still a little unsettling. From seemingly nowhere, in the chaos of the ending of Anahita, the delicate melody from the beginning caught her ears. The melody, now played by bassoon, came from her left and somehow felt like safety. It was hard to describe why it did, or how, but she followed it. It brought her all the way up into what looked like the ruins of an old temple. Long after the music had gone, the bassoon solo remained, telling her which way to go. When she was in the middle of the top floor, the melody was the loudest it’d ever been. She noticed it’d been cycling through the prettiest, most calming melodic lines of the beginning, as if it were trying to establish that it meant her no harm- or lure her into its trap.

“Hello?” She called, hoping that she wouldn’t spook it away. The melody grew quieter and then shifted into the saxophone melody of the third movement. “I’m here, aren’t I?” She tried again. In that moment, she heard a rain stick and the muted glisses in the brass from the third movement. It came from directly behind her. 

“ _ Da’blar _ !” She heard Chivi’s voice. She turned around to see another blurry light person. Then she heard the fanfare from a little later in the movement. “Come on,  _ Da’blar _ . I thought I was bad!” The figure before her wasn’t white like the other one had been. It was somewhere between deep purple and magenta. Maybe it was both. She heard the decaying trumpet calls at the end of the piece as she felt herself being dragged back into the waking world. Before she was completely removed from the Fade, she thought she saw the face of her old Bullypit, Buddy in the light. But it couldn’t have been. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her. 

She awoke in a frenzy, gasping for air and trying to disconnect her mind from the startlingly peaceful stillness of the end of Anahita and the image of her dog staring back at her. 

“Woah, hey, hey.  _ Da’blar _ .” Chivi pulled her closer, trying to calm her. “Mai.” She called. From the look on her face, Maiuma looked disturbed. “What the hell happened to you?” She asked as she wiped her thumbs under Maiuma’s eyes. 

“What do you mean?” She rasped. Maiuma cleared her throat as more tears came to her eyes. Chivi pulled her into a hug and held her tightly. 

“You get possessed?” She inquired unhelpfully. “I won’t tell anybody.”

“No, no. I…” Maiuma struggled for words. 

“Take your time. I’m here.” Chivi stroked her back soothingly. 

“I actually have no idea. I… Was in the Fade, and then… I dreamed of my dog and a piece of music…” Chivi radiated confusion, but didn’t say anything until Maiuma felt strong enough to push her away. 

“Did a demon get your dog while you were singing it a lullaby? Or did your dog get the demon while you were singing a lullaby?” Chivi asked, then narrowed her eyes. “Or was the dog singing you a lullaby?” She joked. Maiuma shoved her shoulder and wiped at her eyes. 

“Why do you just assume it had something to do with a demon?” She rolled her eyes and stood slowly. Chivi shrugged. 

“I dunno. That’s just kinda your thing.” 

“Right. What time is it?” Maiuma stretched out, considering going through her routine stretches, and maybe going to find a cup of tea before she had to meet up with Solas. Chivi scratched her head and furrowed her brows.

“Um… Afternoon?” She grimaced. 

“What?” Maiuma screeched. “Shut up. It’s not.” She panicked, trying to locate her sword and all of her other affects. 

“Yes?” Chivi winced.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” She raged. 

“I don’t know! You seemed so peaceful at dawn! I thought you needed the rest. I didn’t even know you overslept until Solas started asking me questions!” 

“What did he say?” Maiuma pointed her sword at Chivi. Chivi took a few steps back and ended up trapped between the bed and Maiuma. 

“He was worried about you! Obviously neither of us were expecting you to pull a fast one and skip out!” She picked up a pillow and held it where the point of the sword faced her. Maiuma moved closer, and Chivi rolled over to the other side of the bed. “But hey, before you kill me, look!” She pointed to the drawer beside the bed where a cup with steam rising from it sat. “Fresh, hot, and bland. Just like you like it.”

“Is it poison?” Maiuma pressed and Chivi threw the pillow at her. She raised and poised the sword as if to throw it at Chivi.

“Hey, if I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done it while you were singing to demons in your sleep. Also, Adan says the next time you need tea, you gotta get it yourself.” Maiuma nodded and lowered her sword to her side. “We gotta get you a harness for that thing.” She rounded the bed and dared to get closer to Maiuma. 

“We need to get me a lot of things.” Maiuma sighed. “Where is he?” She questioned, shoving the thick thing into her hoodie’s pocket and unwrapping her scarf to rewrap it in a more presentable manner. 

“Why do you always cover up your pretty hair? It reminds me of the fire burning in your eyes as you conquer your enemies.” Chivi grinned wolfishly. Maiuma rolled her eyes.

“Solas? You know the bald apostate elf? Where is he?” She chose to ignore Chivi’s commentary.

“My question first.” Chivi pressed. 

“I don’t have time for this! I asked my question first!” Maiuma told her. Chivi considered her for a moment and then averted her eyes. 

“Fine. Last I saw, he was up by the cabin we woke up in, but I’m pretty sure he has since changed location.” Chivi said. “He said, if you were still feeling up to it, he would meet you in the woods. Something about ‘learning how to walk your ‘emotions-dog’... Whatever the hell that means.” 

Maiuma clicked her tongue and hissed as she finished wrapping her scarf and sat down to wrap her footwraps… Sort of. Chivi sighed and knocked her hands away, kneeling in front of her. 

“How many times do I gotta say it? Left over right, through the thing and pull.” Chivi explained again. Maiuma felt like she was almost getting it, but it was such a new, inconsequential skill that it continued to evade her. 

“I have something called anemia.” She spoke, and Chivi looked up at her curiously. 

“What, you turn into a friendly cat if your hair catches the sunlight?” Chivi deadpanned. 

“Does that happen here?” Maiuma fretted, and Chivi laughed. 

“I’m kidding,  _ Da’blar _ . What is aminio?” 

“Anemia.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a… I get cold really easily because I don’t have enough of certain nutrients in my blood. And if I get too low on those, or get too cold, my health starts to decline. Wearing a scarf helps keep some of the heat in. Among other things like not being exposed to the cold for long periods of time and eating healthily.” She despaired at the fact that those were not things available to her at present. 

“So nothing we have here…” Chivi figured. She nodded. “Does Solas know that? He seems to think absolutely nothing of keeping you in the cold forest in nothing but a light cloak and footwraps.” 

“I have medicine for it in this bag, luckily.” She grabbed her fanny pack and wrapped it around herself. “But even they’ll run out eventually.” Chivi was silent for a while before she answered.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re bunk buddies with the Herald, eh Bulwark?” She smirked. Maiuma swatted at her, and Chivi released a loud snort. “Hey! You better be careful how you treat me! I can really hook you up with something. Wouldn’t want you givin’ out on us before the adventure’s even begun.” She helped Maiuma up and handed her the tea. 

“Thank you, Chivi. I cannot express it enough.” She bowed. Chivi grabbed her arms to try to stop her from doing so.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.  _ Da’rahn. _ Anyway, you got a lesson to get to. And tell him about your anime.” 

“It’s anemia.” Maiuma corrected, and Chivi made a show of checking the sun’s progress through the sky in the windows. Maiuma shook her head and giggled, making her way out of the cabin to try and find Solas. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy happy Monday, friends!  
> Not much Elvhen in this one.
> 
> Elvhen:  
> En'ni'mia- What Chivi thought Maiuma said. Very loosely translates to "Emerging friendly cat sound".   
> Da'rahn- Shortened version of De da'rahn, which means you're welcome. 
> 
> Wow! Have you guys heard about the drama happening with Cullen's voice actor? If there's ever been a true definition of the word "oof", that's probably it.   
> Anyway, next week is more buffoonery with the Inquisitor and our favorite hobo apostate. Stay tuned and leave a comment if you have a question or you know how to link something in the notes!   
> See you all next week!


	12. Chapter 11: Silvery Wisps and Purple Fog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shenanigans ensue between the Herald, her Bulwark, and their Fade expert.

In the end, she didn’t tell Solas about her iron deficiency. She also learned from him that they were leaving with Chivi on the miniquest in the Hinterlands the next day. It baffled her that Chivi hadn’t thought to even mention it earlier, but she couldn’t really complain. 

Halfway through trying to do some basic magic in their forest spot, Chivi showed up. Solas only looked mildly annoyed.

“Hey, mages. Is she getting any better?” Chivi asked Solas as she drew closer. Solas sighed, tucking his hands safely behind his back. 

“Better at being interrupted, perhaps.” He said. Chivi laughed nervously. 

“Was that a joke?” She paced closer to Maiuma, who shook her head. 

“Hey,” She narrowed her eyes at Solas and sat on the ground where she was. “I’m right here, guys.” Chivi sat next to her and laid her head in her lap. “Chivi?”

“So is she going to be ready to travel with us tomorrow?” Chivi asked Solas. He remained exactly where he was, staring at the exchange between Maiuma and Chivi. A mannequin would've shown more emotion.

“She is if she feels that she’s ready.” Solas said in a very guarded manner. Somehow, whatever this was seemed much closer to the Solas she’d seen in the game. 

“I’ve been training my magic for two days.” Maiuma deadpanned. “I know how to not invade your mind or your hand with my runaway feelings.”

“You do not know how.” Solas told her matter-of-factly. “You are merely acquainted with certain paths through which you can arrive at such a destination.” Chivi gave him the blankest stare Maiuma had ever seen on anyone, save for Tira. 

“So… Is she going to make my mark act up if she tries to do her crazy demon magic on the mages and templars?”

“I’m definitely not using my magic on anyone!” Maiuma protested. “Demons are fine, but I can’t just kill someone.” Solas and Chivi shared a look. When they turned back to her, Chivi’s face was a wall of pity and Solas’s merely refracted that. 

“ _ Da’blar… _ ” She began. 

“I know that this is the Dragon Age and the templars and mages have gone crazy but I… I don’t think I have it in me.” She confessed, feeling her chest tighten and her stomach twist. “I’ve never…” 

“Maiuma.” Solas warned. That time, she felt her emotions lingering out onto Solas and Chivi, but it took her a lot of effort to remember exactly how she’d been learning to pull them back in. “I suppose she could stay here…?”

“Yeah, she could… but I didn’t want her to have to be stuck here with Cullen and the snobby templars who would be all too happy to cut her up at the first sign of trouble.” Chivi said, and suddenly Maiuma felt so much worse about being in Thedas. If she was going to be a part of this story, she couldn’t fight the narrative. This world was full of dangers and bad people. It was literally kill or be killed. She knew that, too. She’d seen Tira play this game too many times not to. She’d been so happy to delude herself by thinking she could hide away with Solas and practice magic forever. They all knew that she didn’t have the luxury of time, and that’s what put everyone on edge. They didn’t believe in her ability to make up the difference of her inexperience, and they were each waiting for it to jeopardize someone’s life, so that they could put an end to her threat as soon as possible without spilling innocent blood.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the mark flaring up and Chivi screeching in agony as Maiuma’s emotions tore her hand open. Maiuma panicked and tried to gather all her emotions back up, but as it became apparent that it was not working, her panic turned into full-blown hysteria. She tried to distance herself from Chivi in a last ditch effort to save her, but her back hit something firm and a hand grabbed her wrist. 

“ _ Felas, Isenasha _ .” Solas’s smooth baritone voice rumbled through her ribcage as his chest moved hers up and down steadily. He was trying to get her to breathe normally. “Try to stabilize it.” He was still looking straight ahead at Chivi’s hunched over form. Maiuma shook her head violently, but Solas persisted. “I am right here. I will assist, but it was your  _ deral’nas  _ that caused this to happen. It is for the best that you put an end to it.” She was about to protest again, but Chivi gasped in more pain. Maiuma waited a heartbeat or two more to steady herself, and then slowly crawled back over to Chivi, grabbing her hand up in both of hers. This time, she could feel the magic coming in hot, but tried not to take all of it in. She tried to leave some of it in the atmosphere as she began humming the beginning of The Field. 

It seemed to be working for a little while, and then stopped a few moments later. When she began to panic again, she felt Solas lay his hand on hers and gently guide her magic back to its work. With his added influence, she found that their magics felt and looked different to her. Now that she was able to compare, Solas’s magic formed silvery-green wisps around her, flowing effortlessly through the air and into their connected hands, whereas her own hung thick around them like purpley-red fog. It reminded her of the curious bassoon spirit she’d seen in the Fade before. She could also see the Fade-green of the mark’s energy around Chivi’s palm. When Solas squeezed her hand a little, her eyes fluttered open to see Chivi panting and staring curiously at her. 

“Hey, it worked this time.” She looked at Solas, who was still kneeling behind Maiuma. Desperate to get out of the compromising position, Maiuma flung herself at Chivi in a hug. 

“I am so sorry.” She said, and she meant it. Chivi patted her on the back.

“ _ Tel’nu _ ,  _ Da’blar _ . It’s all good. No one is hurt. We just gotta talk about maybe not doing that whenever threatened. People vent their feelings in a lot of different ways, you know. You should grab a hobby. I hear those help.” Chivi joked, bringing a smile to Maiuma’s lips. She pulled away and Chivi smiled back at her. “ _ Serannas _ , Solas.” She nodded to him. When Maiuma turned, Solas was already on his feet, dusting himself off. 

“Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise that you are here, Herald. We should work on limiting the range of her emotions while in the presence of the mark.” He suggested. Maiuma and Chivi looked at each other. 

“If you don’t mind… I don’t want to hurt you again, but… Well, I guess that’s the only pro and the only con of this situation.” Maiuma mused. Chivi tilted her head inquisitively, but was still smiling.

“Well what else are Heralds and their Bulwarks for, Ma’blar? We can’t have you knocking me out on a battlefield somewhere down the line. Better get it out of your system now.” She smiled broadly. Chivi was so optimistic and bold, she might’ve been the perfect foil to Solas’s broody and secretive nature. Almost too perfect. She couldn't help but wonder again if there were any chance of Chivi falling in love with Solas in a few months, or if she would romance any of their other companions. If Chivi didn’t fall for Solas, would someone else come along to steal his heart and change his mind? They had to, right? Someone had to plant the seed in his mind to stop with his mission to destroy the world. Right?

“Maiuma,” Solas called, freeing her from the prison of her thoughts. “How did it feel when you were casting on the Herald’s mark? Were you able to visualize anything?” How did he know?

“Um, yeah. It was… It was like I could see our magic and the energy of the mark when I closed my eyes.” She told him. His eyebrows seemed to break free of his unconcerned mask, but he took his time wrangling them back down from the top of his forehead before responding. 

“Good.” He sounded unenthused at best. “Did it help you to imagine yourself moving the energy to and fro?” 

“I actually didn’t even try it. I was so concerned with feeling it.” He nodded. She looked down at her hands. 

“Then let’s try again, shall we?” Solas said moving closer to her. She backed away cautiously. 

“Try what again? How do we let all my emotions loose without threatening me or hurting Chivi?” She asked. Just then, a tiny sliver of a smirk also broke free of his carefully constructed facade. 

“How, indeed.” He said simply. She’d been around enough cryptic professors and lesson teachers to know that meant ‘Figure it out, Maiuma’. So she tried summoning some energy as if she were to… what were they doing before Chivi rolled up? What if she tried some prestidigitation? That was magic, right? And fairly low-level magic, at that, if DnD was anything to go by. What if she tried to change the color of Chivi’s hair? No. She could set her on fire or make her head an orange or something. That definitely wouldn’t get her any brownie points with the rest of the companions thus far. So what about the nose trick? Instead of thousands of tiny strands, could she make one simple nose appear invisible? Surely. 

She slowly- very slowly- gathered up some magic to use for the task, finding that she didn’t even know how to portion it. She imagined her thick magenta mist and tried to mold it all up into her palms, which was relatively easy. The caveat was that once there, it basically acted like oobleck, and whatever part was not being acted on by her will simply oozed back out into the air around her. She looked around for Solas’s energy to see how he did it. It was still in the air- if only a brief flash of it. It was enough to give her an indication that it was there. Solas must’ve felt her poking around at it because he released a little bit more directly from his body so that it hung closely around him, flanking him, but still flowed and cascaded freely, just like the Fade magic of the rifts and Chivi’s mark. It was all his magic, afterall. She released all the magic back into the air and gathered a small amount, plastering it over her body like Solas’s was. It was hard to tell, but it felt like she was doing something. Not forcing the magic to conform, but simply changing the shape of the container to her body. 

“Not like that.” Solas spoke, suddenly now beside her. She could still see the mark’s energy exactly where Chivi was a few minutes ago. Solas allowed a little more of his magic to flow out of him and towards her, coating her with it, on top of her magic. “This is a barrier. A weak one at that, though I do not think you intended to create one in the first place.” He told her. She knew she was doing something. When he let the magic dispel, she did the same, noting how his magic flowed back into him. Was that how barriers worked? Once they were broken, they went right back to the source? How did they ever get tired from putting up barriers on missions? Unless it only comes back if the energy is uncompromised. Hitting it would probably just destroy the magic somehow, or send it back to the Fade. “Do not forget to allow the magic to flow through you as much as you tug and bend. It will never truly become a part of you if you do not let it.” Solas said.

“But isn’t that how I draw too much?” She questioned, eyes still shut tight. 

“Yes. However, your focus should be on drawing less in, not preventing the flow altogether.” He supplied. That made enough sense. 

“Show me.” She told him. Without another word, Solas trained some of his energy towards her and let it mingle her own. He did not force it to connect with her being, but something within her itched to let it in. So she did. It felt strange and intimate, and it was almost like she could feel Solas’s apprehension towards it, but it also felt inherently right. Using his energy, he guided her own through her and directed it to where it needed to be in order for her to use it. This was different from how she had been using it- which she could only equate to throwing paint at a canvas and hoping it stuck. This was elegant and precise, as if Solas was the paintbrush she needed to express her desires effectively. She tested it, sending it out to Chivi for the prestidigitation. She was pleasantly surprised to find that it was smoother, and somehow felt more powerful. More potent. Just then, Solas made a disgruntled noise. 

“What? Guys?” Maiuma opened her eyes to see Chivi’s panicked face, wide-eyed and… noseless… Chivi didn’t have a nose. She turned to Solas to see if he had somehow expected this outcome, or if he would be showing any emotion at all. His face was unreadable. 

“Solas?” She called. He looked at her blankly. 

“I’m sorry, you didn’t intend for that to happen?” He asked her.

“Guys, what happened?” Chivi asked again.

“You- your…” She reached up to gesture to her nose.

“It would appear your nose has disappeared.” Solas told her in a smooth, even voice. 

“My wh-” Chivi looked down and in bewilderment and screamed. “My- what the fuck! My fucking nose is gone, Mai!” She exclaimed. Maiuma flinched and turned back to Solas.

“I- I was just trying to cast a prestidigitation! It’s not supposed to be actually gone!” Maiuma told him. He hummed in thought. 

“Presti-what? Put it back!” Chivi demanded. 

“I don’t know how! Just touch your face! It’s not real!” She professed. Chivi frantically did as she was told and immediately, her posture changed and her face relaxed. Her nose had not reappeared, but Maiuma guessed that at least Chivi could see it. 

“So she can see it, then?” Solas asked. Maiuma nodded. “I might make it so that everyone else can see it again.” He suggested. “Promptly as you will, before she begets a riot in the village.” Maiuma thought briefly about arguing, but that idea died alongside her desire to stir a witch hunt on the future Inquisitor. 

“Help me like you did before. l don’t know exactly how I did it.” She implored him. He simply nodded and he held up his palm facing her, expression still vague and frankly, a little concerning. She brushed it off and hovered her hand close to his, already feeling his magic mingling with hers. With a little less difficulty than before, she drew her own magic and some of Solas’s through herself- careful to not draw in too much. Then she tried actually telling it to take back the prestidigitation. It acted like it wanted to attack it instead, so she grabbed it back up and tried to imagine putting it on a leash. Giving it the freedom to do what she told it, but not enough to hurt Chivi. When she opened her eyes, Chivi’s nose had returned. 

“Remarkable.” Solas breathed. She turned to him with a raised eyebrow. The reverence was swiftly wiped from his face before he continued. “You have somehow managed to go from an inexperienced mage with no concept of casting to competently casting and reversing an illusion spell that should be against the nature of your magic.” He gushed, but his face was nothing but neutral curiosity. 

“Am I done here? If she’s doing magic against her nature, I feel like I should take me and my very mortal elven nose back into the village.” Chivi explained. 

“If you so choose. Though, I am now without doubt that she would be ready to travel with us tomorrow, if she is willing.” Solas eyed her. She sighed. 

“Give me pros and cons.” She told them, then thought better of her terminology. “A list.  _ On i telahm.” _

“If you stay here, you won’t have to kill anyone.” Chivi supplied. 

“Yet if you stay, you’ll be surrounded by templars with little control over your magic and no one to help.” Solas continued.

“If you come with us, you can continue to train with Solas on the way, and you would get to spend more time with me…” Chivi edged. Maiuma considered, then resigned herself to what was probably inevitable anyway. 

“Fine.” How bad could the trip be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello! It's already been a whole week since the last post! How are you guys doing?
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Felas- Slow, calm  
> Tel'nu- lit. No pain. Basically, no worries. It's all good.  
> Ma'blar- Just another form of Maiuma's pet name. Instead of Little Flower, it means My Flower.  
> On i telahm- Good and bad. 
> 
> I thought I'd give you more Chivi-Solas-Maiuma goodness this chapter featuring some DnD references. Next chapter, we'll be in a different POV for a change and we'll also be getting into some less mundane, housewarming stuff.  
> Thanks for all the comments and questions, guys! Keep them coming. I love talking to you. 
> 
> See you next Monday!


	13. Chapter 12: Mother Giselle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma meets Mother Giselle. Solas thinks.

In the first day of traveling, Solas had taught Maiuma to make slightly more competent barriers and Chivi had explained her situation to Cassandra, who did not seem at all impressed. Solas would not have been either, if not for her quick-studied nature. Fortunately, the fact that everyone else pitied her pacifism paired with her ability to cast barriers lightened her dead weight enough for her to remain on the team. 

“ _Da’blar_ ,” Chivi called, looking away from yet another soldier scout. They had, as promised, been spending a lot of time together throughout the journey. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think them sisters. “With me.” She started walking, prompting the whole group to follow.

“What’s up?” Maiuma asked as she caught up. Chivi spoke without looking at her. 

“How ya holdin’ up?” 

“Uh, I’m fine, I think. I haven’t had to sacrifice my morals in any major way yet. I’m also not dead.” Maiuma answered. Chivi barely chuckled. If she was going to survive in Thedas, she was going to have to let go of some of the premeditated morals that kept her from being useful. Her entire fear of being here wasn’t even dying by the hand of an enemy. It was being made Tranquil by those supposedly on their side. It was a just fear, but still, there was so much more at stake for her. 

“I’m glad it’s going that well for you.” Chivi told her. As soon as they entered the camp, they spotted Mother Giselle tending a soldier. At that point, the group began to break off to allow Mother Giselle to speak to the Herald and her Bulwark. He did not miss the opportunity to study her candidly. 

When she reached Mother Giselle, she bowed and encouraged Chivi to do the same. Mother Giselle seemed somewhat taken aback by her formality, but smiled warmly at the two and bowed in kind. As Maiuma listened to her speak, her curly red locks caught the wind, and she pulled her hands under her arms to maintain warmth, but she was ever-attentive. She always was, no matter who was speaking, he noticed. She was exceptionally polite and well spoken to everyone, except for Chivi and Varric- and himself, on occasion, when he was pushing her limits in their lessons. In those times where he found himself looser in his words and conduct, so too was she. He was still in the process of figuring her out. As it would seem, there was much more to her than met the eye. 

“Watch yourself, Chuckles.” Varric said as Solas crashed into him. 

“I apologize.”

“You preoccupied or something?” Varric asked him with a quirked brow. He was smirking and eyeing Maiuma across the grounds. Solas quickly replaced the neutral appearance he’d come to adopt since he’d been awake. 

“No. She’s improving. Greatly- in fact, it seems as though in a few moments she will not require my assistance.” He recovered. Varric looked like he wanted to say something more, but Cassandra spoke first. 

“I am pleased to know that she will soon have enough restraint not to kill any of us trying to purify a demon.” 

“It is possible that falling through the Fade has enhanced her ability to… alter the nature of a demon, but it has not compromised her sense of restraint.” He told them. 

“As long as she doesn’t get in my way.” Cassandra bit and passed by. Varric tutted. 

“I believe ya, Chuckles.” He offered before swiftly changing his tune. “Where ya off to, fire locks?” 

“Oh, you know. The Void.” Maiuma joked, approaching them. 

“How’s Mother Giselle?” Varric inquired cheekily. 

“Oh she’s doing fine. Very quiet.” And then she turned her attentions to Solas. “Do you think we’ll have a lesson today? After everything settles down, I mean.” 

“I suppose that wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary. Were you hoping to inquire about something specific?” He asked. Since their initial mentions of it, she had gotten substantially better at reeling in her emotions, so he couldn’t tell if anything was bothering her at the moment. That probably meant it was nothing too troubling. 

“Well, there’s nothing serious.” She twisted up her face in the way that always seemed to indicate she was making a decision about how much to say. 

“ _Telir dirth’ahn_.” He told her, and she seemed to hesitate for a moment before she spoke. 

“If you say that the Fade enhanced my ability to change the nature of demons- spirits, really- and my emotions affect people… Is there a way I could just… Force someone to act calm? Or maybe make them feel remorseful or something? So that I wouldn’t have to kill them?” All was silent while he considered it.

“I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that might actually get you closer to killin’ somebody.” Varric said. Solas didn’t disagree. 

“That is very complex thinking.” He said simply. “It would almost be easier to kill your adversary instead.” 

“Okay, I know. It’s actually very easy to kill someone already, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot on the way here. I want to be helpful to you guys. I want to contribute, but I’m still just a girl from an island. I’ve never even had to fight anyone.” 

“Bullshit! Your swordsmanship is better than some of Commander Cullen’s recruits!” Varric told her. She did seem to have some amount of fighting prowess, aside from her never wanting to use it. 

“I took lessons as a child. That stuff is only for self defense, and rusty at best.” She explained. He was beginning to think that it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to train with the Commander when they arrived back at Haven. It would help her greatly to be able to defend herself with magic as well as physical conditioning. “Something tells me you have an idea.” She said to him. 

“Just a few thoughts on the matter. It is perhaps possible, with much discipline. I believe it is a worthy goal to consider, but in the meantime, we must focus on the smaller, more manageable techniques. Such as keeping your _deral’nas_ under control.” He explained. She looked down at her feet, mildly dejected. “Which you have been doing very well thus far.” He added, and she smiled at him, her tinted spectacles catching the light so that he could not fully see her eyes.

“I've also been meaning to ask you something.” He asked. She hummed in response. “What sort of magic is it that transmogrifies the lenses of your spectacles? They only seem tinted at specific times.” She hesitated for a moment, and briefly, he could feel a modicum of her dismay before she pulled it back in.

“Oh, it's not. I… well…I don't know.” She chuckled. “They're just really common in Ohio because it gets very sunny and the Ohioans don't like that.”

“I see. So they react to the sun.” He could’ve guessed that, but he was curious about why she got so flustered when he asked her things. It didn’t seem like she was lying. Perhaps she was still just torn by the loss of her home. 

“Yes. I mean… Yes, they do.” She concluded. 

“A marvelous invention.” Solas remarked, and she nodded. 

“I’ve never really heard of the lenses changing colors, but there’s a small market in the Roads for dwarves and darkened eyeglasses. We don’t like the sun much either, Melody.” Varric confirmed. Now that he thought about it, the elves of his time also had such an item, though they were not very common. 

“Hey, are either of you healers?” The voice of a scout came from behind him. Solas resisted a sigh and turned to face her. 

“I believe you would be speaking to me.” He told her, but she was already walking in the opposite direction, presumming that he’d follow. These humans had gotten so bold in the absence of their greaters. 

“There’s a whole tent of men who need healing.” Was all she offered him. He turned back to Maiuma and Varric and bowed his head slightly. Maiuma mimicked his gesture while Varric just smiled. 

“Don’t worry, Chuckles. I’ll take good care of your pupil.” He said. As Solas followed the scout down to the tent, he heard a few lines of their continued conversation. 

“How do you make everything sound weird?” Maiuma asked.

“I’m a writer. That’s kind of what I do.” Varric admitted. 

“Hey, suppose I wanted to get ahold of some of your books, how would I go about it?” She asked him. Solas didn’t know that she read his books- or that she could even read. Again, he could’ve guessed by how well-spoken she was. It was just very strange for a city elf to have such extensive education. Indeed, any kind of elf, save for the First of a Dalish clan. He recalled that she had actually said something about Varric’s writing before.

“What a pleasant surprise, Melody! I didn’t know you were a fan.” 

“Who said I was a fan? I just asked where I could get one.” She humored. By the time Varric responded, Solas was out of earshot. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, friends!
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Telir dirth'ahn- Just ask. 
> 
> So now we've got a little bit of Solas's POV in the mix. I wonder what the future holds for this rag-tag group! As always, let me know what you're thinking in the comments, and I'll see you next week!


	14. Chapter 13: Collard Greens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma helps some soldiers out in a dietary way. Solas thinks. A lot.

When he reached the tent of wounded, the scout said something else to him, but he couldn’t be bothered to hear it as he began working on an injured leg. 

Maiuma was a non-Dalish from an obscure island. She had plenty of experience in a fighting art, though she refused to use it. She wore spectacles all the time, and even had enchanted lenses to help her see better when not indoors. She was extremely well-spoken and seemed to be able to read. She also had strange markings on her fingers, which she could never competently explain to him.

“Not there.” The man attached to the leg demanded. “Can’t you see there’s a fucking arrow sticking out of my thigh?” He complained. With no words, Solas grabbed the shaft of the arrow, and instead of methodically working his way up the leg like he had been, ripped the arrow straight out. The man cried out in pain and Solas got back to work. He was susceptible to anger and outbursts of it like anyone else. There was no harm in letting the man bleed a little before he healed him back up. It was already a tremendous waste of his magic to assist someone who clearly didn’t want to be touched by a mage, but simply refusing to help these arrogant shems would blow a hole in the delicate tapestry he’d woven around himself- that of a humble apostate mage. After he’d finished the man’s leg, he went to treat the woman next to him. 

“Don’t touch me, knife ear!” She spat. He simply nodded and moved on to the next injured person. The woman looked to be beyond his help anyway. She had perhaps a  _ melath _ at most. The short reddish hair of the next man was all it took to bring his mind back to Maiuma. 

To top it all off, she was a mage who hadn’t received a lick of training in her life before their lessons. She was exceptionally quick to wrap her mind around the techniques he taught her, and even quicker to utilize them in combination for her own explorations. If she kept progressing at this rate, he’d have to watch his back. Perhaps it was already in his best interest to keep her close. 

“Watch it!” A brutish looking woman bumped shoulders with Solas on her way out of the tent. He decided that he should probably heed her advice for the time being. It was so unlike him to let another person consume his thoughts so regularly as she did. 

By the time most of the soldiers were healed or dead, Solas decided to head back to find the Herald and their agglomerate crew of acquaintances. The other healers could take it from there. Solas walked through the camp for a while before he found Varric, Chivi, and Maiuma by a fire. Maiuma’s form was almost unintelligible from his vantage point. It was already dusk and her body was almost completely hidden by a girthy pot sitting next to the fire; her hair blending almost seamlessly with the red flames. 

“Yeah. They said all the meat is going bad and they’re all tired of eating leaves.” He heard Chivi complaining. “I think it’s because I look Dalish to them, but I’m the Herald, for crying out loud. Not some exotic elven diet planner.” Varric and Maiuma laughed at her words. 

“That does seem like quite the issue.” Varric humored. “You got any ideas, Melody?” Maiuma twisted up her face as she came into view and then looked between the other two conspiritorially. 

“Do you have access to all this food?” She asked. Chivi scoffed.

“Void yeah, I do.” 

“Go get me about a ram’s worth of meat, some water, more greens and some wine.” She told the two.

“Wait, are you serious?” Varric gaped at her.

“Where would I even find all of that?” Chivi questioned in disbelief. “And if you fuck up their food, your pretty smile won’t be able to save you from hungry soldier boys.” Maiuma only rolled her eyes. 

“I’ll get the water. Chivi, you get the food stuff and Varric, find the wine.” She commanded. When they didn’t move quickly, she added, “Just trust me, okay. You said they were tired of the same thing, and they didn’t know how to use all the leftover meat.” 

“Yeah, but they also…” Chivi tried to come up with a counter, but it seemed she couldn’t put the words together. “Where in the Void is Varric supposed to find some wine here of all places?” She asked.

“Honey, this is a soldier camp in the middle of a mage-templar war. If there’s not a drop of booze in this whole place, you can have my foot.” Varric told her. “I can try and locate some wine, but don’t be grumpy if you don’t get premium stuff.” He winked at Maiuma and she crossed a finger over her heart. As they moved out in search of the supplies, Solas found his chance to approach Maiuma. 

“And these ingredients would do what, exactly?” She jumped when she heard his voice, then turned and smiled at him.

“Do you know where they keep all the water here? Or is there a stream nearby?” She asked, lifting the large pot. He sighed and handed her his staff, much more easily carrying the pot, himself.

“Best to use the stream if you’re going to need a lot.” He said simply, eyeing her as he turned to lead her in the direction of it.

“And it’s something that my people do all the time… well, it started as a thing they did when meat was going to spoil if they didn’t use it, and there was an overabundance of vegetables.” She elaborated. He put the ingredients together in his head. 

“A stew?” He thought some more. “With wine?” She hummed.

“Vinegar works way better, but you learn to work with what you’ve got. They’re made out of the same stuff anyway.” She told him. He raised a brow, but didn’t say anymore. She was apparently crafty too. He was starting to think that there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do. He would be keeping her close, for sure. 

As they reached the stream, he set the pot down and let it fill up with the water. The stream was not the clearest, but if she was boiling it and adding wine to it, it would suit their needs just fine.

“I could carry that, if you..” She began. He barely resisted a smirk.

“Could you? When you could barely carry it empty?” He asked her, keeping his face mostly neutral. She looked away and pursed her lips, but it seemed like she wanted to laugh too. 

“Or I could just not be courteous or kind at all anymore. That's fine.” She was smirking now. Without another word, he simply carried the pot back to the fire and set it down on the kindle. Chivi was waiting for them with, as Maiuma had requested, a ram’s worth of meat and a lot of greens. 

“Two things.” Chivi held up two fingers. “One: They all think I’m cooking them dinner tonight, courtesy of the Inquisition, so don’t fuck it up. Two: Everyone’s hungry as the Void, so don’t fuck it up. Oh, hey, Solas.” She greeted, belatedly. He bowed his head slightly.

“Hopefully, this’ll fix your two food problems. If not, I hope you’re very good at running.” Maiuma joked. At least, it sounded like she ought to be, but her voice and face were completely straight.

“You know, it’s kind of terrifying when you do that,  _ Da’blar _ .” Chivi admitted, but before she could even respond, the sound of metal clattering to the ground caught their attention. 

“Lady Bulwark. Your campground moonshine.” Varric said as he moved away from the pile of metal flasks and water bladders. 

“Varric, how did you even manage to find this many?” Maiuma openly gawked at the bounty. Solas was fairly certain it had come about in the form of gambling, but neither him nor the child of the Stone said anything more. Maiuma picked up one of the flasks and opened it, sniffing the contents before pouring them into her mouth. She pulled a face and coughed, squinting at the flask.

“That bad?” Chivi inquired. Maiuma simply threw the flask over to her. Chivi had much the same reaction to it. 

“It’ll work, though.” Maiuma reached for it again and upended the entirety of it into the pot. 

“Um, Crafty?” Varric called in disbelief. 

“Listen, I know it looks strange.” 

“More like it’ll kill us.” Chivi contributed.

“Or get us all drunk off our asses.” Varric continued. 

“Or both.”

“This is an essential part of the recipe. I promise. You trust me, right? Solas?” Maiuma turned to him, wielding her concerningly fox-like eyes against him. He hesitated for but a moment before nodding. 

“I trust that this will be an interesting dish.” He said. She shook her head, smiling. 

“That wasn’t exactly confirmation, but I will take it.” She began commanding Chivi and Varric to hand her this and that ingredient. The whole process took about half a  _ melath  _ and by the end, they had garnered an audience of hungry and bemused scout soldiers. 

“Well… Who’s hungry?” Maiuma asked, eyes scanning the crowd. One scout paced slowly over to Maiuma and offered up her bowl. She served the woman a portion of the concoction and watched cautiously as she brought a scrap of it to her mouth. The scout hummed in delight and looked at Maiuma with a modicum of surprise.

“This isn’t bad!” She told her. Maiuma bowed her head and smiled brightly at the human woman. 

“I’m glad.” She said and reached for a bowl, filling it up and handing it to Chivi. Next she gave one to Varric, and then to Solas. He accepted it with both hands and couldn’t help but return the smile she gave him. He found it almost infectious in that way. As she passed out portions to every soldier in the camp, he observed her closely. The fierce, bright blanket of her hair made her seem more like a spirit, rather than an elf- glowing by the light of the fire. Her eyes gleamed a lustrous green, and her teeth shone as bright as porcelain when she smiled at her companions. They even seemed to sparkle. Where was her island located, again? He’d never heard of an Ohio, neither before his slumber, nor after. Was it closer to the Anderfels and Donarks? That would explain her sun-kissed skin and her apparent demon fighting prowess- the art she was trained in for self defence and her inherent ability to dismiss them. The Anders were most notable for their aversion to the Blight and darkspawn. However, it wouldn’t explain her elven heritage. Were she from around Seheron, the skin tone, fighting prowess and heritage would all come together greatly. There was an enormous population of elves in the area, but most of them had been Tevinter slaves at some point. She didn’t have the markings of one… At least not visibly. Still, she seemed much more like a scholar than any kind of slave or soldier. 

“Solas?” Maiuma called from directly in front of him. She eyed the bowl still in his hands. “Is it bad?” She asked, tilting her head. He blinked and followed her gaze.

“Apologies. I am just a bit…” He began.

“Preoccupied?” Varric smirked from his seated position across from them. Varric may have been a heavy drinker and a frivolous gambler, but he was also cautious and observant. Twice now, he had caught Solas in deep thought about Maiuma. Solas made sure to keep his features schooled as he shook his head. 

“It has been a long trip with many people to interact with.” He excused, hoping that Varric thought he knew him well enough to believe him. Varric gave him an approving nod.

“That’s our humble apostate hobo for ya. Big mother hen with no social tolerance.” He told Maiuma with a broad smile. “Honestly, he’d rather be up in the mountains dancing with bears and wolves than be here with people he doesn’t know. Hell, he’d rather be anywhere than speak to anybody.” He expertly deduced. Maiuma lightly chuckled and bowed her head to him.

“ _Ir_ _abelas_ , Solas. I don’t mean to bother you. Just let me know how it was later, _vin_?” She told him, and he nodded, grateful for the escape- however unjustified or perhaps improper. “But you should eat that soon. It’ll get cold.” She added. 

“I have magic.” He said absently. It must’ve come across in a particularly flat tone, because a moment later, Varric whistled and scratched his neck nervously. 

“Okay.” Maiuma said and turned to join Chivi and the scouts. Varric eyed Solas for a little while before turning after her.

“Hey, where’d you learn to make this stuff? I’ve never heard of collard greens before! And the idea of pot liquor- hoowee.” Varric cheered. 

“It’s a special island recipe. But between us, I’m a terrible cook. We got very lucky today.” Solas heard as they walked farther and farther away. He had to be careful about how curious he seemed around her. She shouldn’t have been a threat- she shouldn’t have been anything. Chivi had his mark. She was to be his main priority… Still...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy happy Monday, friends!
> 
> I hope you guys are getting enough sleep! 
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Melath- Pretty much an hour.  
> Vin- Yes
> 
> Writing the stuff about the different regions was literally the most fun and tiring thing I have ever done for a chapter. (Just for Solas to say like three things about it) but I thought it would be a little inciteful to have him actively searching for where she might be from. I figure Solas's geography and history might be a little sharper than my own since he would probably have read ALL about EVERYTHING upon waking up in a new world.  
> Moreover, doing research for this fic is the pain that keeps me alive. Pretty much every chapter, I reread my writing and go "Wait a minute. Would they say that?" or "Would they have access to that?" "What's the history of this village?" Etc, etc. It's super fun and I would 10/10 recommend. There's just so much lore and so much to think about when writing in this universe. 
> 
> As a side note, time in the Dragon Age is SO hard to write in because there are so many measurements and expressions and devices that we lean on today to tell the time that they simply did not have access to, but I would like to think that during Solas's time, they pretty much went off of the same system we use to day- if slightly different. In this way, he may reference these different measurements the same way Maiuma might, both of them experiencing a lack of standardized time-telling in this age, but still having a sort of internal rhythm that shapes their interpretation of it. I don't know if that quite makes sense, but it really doesn't matter outside of the two of them for now, because nobody else really experiences time in the same way. Food for thought, though. If you see me mention it again, that's what's up. 
> 
> Anyway, that was a lot of notes. Sorry. I get overexcited sometimes. There's a little bit of a twist coming up soon. I hope you're ready and excited, because I sure am!
> 
> See you guys next week!


	15. Chapter 14: Ahn Silas?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma has a dream. The team finally reaches Haven. Solas has some things to say intermittently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that I listened to 8,903,489,340 times while I was writing the first part of this chapter is Stay, I Pray You from Anastasia, found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cvJo31jGfo 
> 
> Even though this song kind of replaced In the Dark of The Night (My favorite song from the movie) it's still a pretty hard bop, so give it a listen or two for the beginning of this one. Regardless, it'll be making a comeback in future chapters.

“You want to tell me to go with her. To stop her.” Her voice echoed between the trees and battled the breeze rustling their leaves. Two women stood in the middle of a tall forest at the break of dawn, one a short Dalish elf with hair black as night and straight as a stick, the other a sturdier human with thick brows and amber eyes. The human walked a few paces in front of the elf. The air was sharp and cold, but the women wore nothing but nightgowns and boots. 

“You’re already here trying to stop me.” The human woman threw her head in her hands and sank to her knees. “Ada, I… You don’t have to stay-"

“No.” The elven woman said, stern for her apparent age. Her steely expression changed when she laid eyes on the other woman. She sped to the human’s side and brushed her strawberry blonde curls aside. “Jack… I know Esme better than anyone. She would never do anything too drastic.” When Jack didn’t raise her head, Ada cupped her face with her hands and brought their foreheads together. “Hey.” 

“I have a bad feeling about this. I know that not everyone agrees with the Seekers, but they’re doing good work… I believe in them.” Jack whispered. Ada sighed and kissed her cheek.

“There are other ways of doing what the Seekers are trying to do. I don’t agree with them,” 

“I know.” 

“But, I chose to help you because Esme is… confused. I believe in your goal, and together we will show her that there’s another way.” Ada finished. The both of them sat in the comfortable silence for a little while until Jack looked up at the elf in front of her. “What?”

“You’re beautiful.” Jack told her, raising a hand to trace the delicate lines of vallaslin on her pale face. The corners of Ada’s lips lifted slowly as her eyes fluttered and sparkled for Jack. She lifted her chin proudly. 

“I know.” The women shared a laugh. “I miss her already.” 

“Me too. I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but… We’ll find a way.” She reassured the both of them, standing and squaring her shoulders. Ada did the same. Suddenly, Maiuma became aware of Stay, I Pray You ringing out into the forest, but Maiuma seemed to be the only one who heard it. Before they turned to leave further into the forest, Ada gazed upon the silver band on her hand. She grabbed a girthy stick from the ground and stabbed it into the earth. She dug until there was a narrow hole in the dirt. She stuck the ring in and filled the ground back up. With her forehead to the freshly dug patch, she whispered prayers into the dirt. 

“ _ Dar’eth Shiral,  _ Esme _. Nuva Sylaise i Andruil ama na. Nuva mar’shos’lahn’en ir’tel’dera Fen’Harel _ .” Maiuma recognized most of them as farewells. To her surprise, Jack dropped to her knees and bowed with Ada. After a moment, she rose and offered Ada her hand. 

“We should…” She let her eyes trail the forest ahead. Ada smiled sadly and nodded. From the corner of her eye, Maiuma saw movement on the other side of the hill she stood on. It was Solas’s bald head and sharp ears she recognized. Just as Solas turned her way, Ada whispered four more words and then Maiuma was ejected from the dream.

“ _ Sule tael tasalal,  _ _ asa'ma'lin _ .”

Maiuma woke up with a start. Before her mind could wrap around her actions, she grabbed her fanny pack and left her tent. She ran to a spot between a sparse collection of trees just beyond the camp and dug out her knife. Without hesitation, she broke the earth and continued to make a deep hole. She scraped and dug until she found it. The thick silver band. From this close, she could tell that there was a single flower embedded in the center with pearlescent crystals as the petals. Linear depressions that reminded her of the vallaslin on her arms wrapped around the rest of the ring and flowed into the flower. It was breathtaking. 

When Maiuma came to her senses, she stood and walked back to the camp. What caused her to have that dream? How did she know she was in the right place? That the ring was real? Although she missed wearing rings- all of hers still being in Ohio- she took care to cleanse it of the dirt and debris before sliding it gently into the smallest compartment of her fanny pack. She didn't feel right just donning someone else's ring. She would have to think about the implications of this discovery later.

When she got to the tent she shared with Chivi, she grabbed her makeshift oral care bag out of her pack, very careful not to wake her. She’d been pretty worried at first that the people of this age wouldn’t have a big emphasis on dental hygiene- and it certainly wasn’t as big as it was in her time- but they did have proper means to at least keep their mouths clean. She’d nearly kissed Chivi when she brought her the kit and showed her how to use it. 

After that was done, Maiuma decided she should get some stretching done and get a headstart on practicing her magic before Solas woke up. Usually, just like bass lessons back home, if she didn’t practice or at least warm up before a lesson, she was less focused, clumsier, and more given to overreacting to Solas’s criticism. So, she chose to focus on a basic barrier spell for a start. Once that was pretty good, she started to wonder if she could make a heated barrier that wouldn’t instantly liquify the subject. It would, after all, be very useful to be able to keep everyone warm up here in the mountains. Once she got the basic spell back on the log in front of her, she tried slowly applying heat to it. The magic began to lunge out at the log again, so she reeled it back in and really focused on feeding the log much more slowly than it wanted to go. 

Belatedly, she came to the realization that she’d practically chosen the worst subject to test this magic on. She wouldn’t be able to tell if the log was getting warmer unless it burst into flames. Suddenly, some of Solas’s words came back to her.  _ Think with your mind, not your magic. You’re still too impatient- helpless- like a child in the middle of a storm. _ As true as it was, the statement was hurtful. Storms were scary! Getting wrapped up in her magic and hurting someone was a very real possibility for her, and it was terrifying. That being said, Solas had been awfully quiet as of late. To that point, sometimes he came off ruder and more standoffish. Their lessons had been progressing as usual, but there was now an edge to his words when she joked with him. It made him seem much more like the weird, antisocial apostate elf from the game. Had she done something? Said something that made him angry with her? She’d refused to humor him when he asked her about the markings on her fingers, but that wouldn’t warrant a complete 180 in their conduct, would it?

_ “Ahn silas?” _ Solas’s voice broke her train of thought. When she turned to the sound, his eyes were lit with rage and his brow furrowed.

“Huh?” She asked, but noticed a little too late that his eyes were trained on the tall blaze that used to be a log in front of them. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She tried dispelling the barrier, but he was already a step ahead of her. Once the fire before them was put out, she realized there were more eyes on her. Almost everyone had woken up to the smell of burning wood and grass. 

“Please answer the question.  _ Ahn silas? _ ” Solas clicked his tongue when she hadn’t answered fast enough. “Or were you even thinking? Are you aware of what your magic can do?”

“Yes, I am, Solas. You know I am.” She told him. His posture was rigid and his expression was impersonal. Neutral. “I was just trying something new.” 

“Well, I would assume so. I certainly haven’t taught you anything like that.” 

“Solas, do we have a problem?” Her mouth moved of its own accord, but before he could respond, she amended her question. “Have I done something to offend you? You’ve been strange lately.” 

“I didn’t realize you knew me well enough to tell if I were being strange.” His face was still neutral, but the tone of his voice certainly wasn’t. “Try to control yourself long enough not to cause any major destruction. There is a reason we have lessons.” He told her pointedly. She blinked slowly.

“Hey, I said I was sorry. I just wanted to warm up a little bit before our lesson. I didn’t think any harm could come from it if I was careful.”

“And were you careful? Tell me, did you mean to set the log ablaze? If that is the case, I will promptly renounce my reservations on the matter.” He sighed and broke eye contact with her. “The point of me teaching you how to apply your magic is not so that you can try to teach yourself when I’m not looking.”

“I really do appreciate your help, Solas, but I am far from a child.” She struggled to keep the bass out of her voice, so as not to add more heat to the conversation. “And the point of teaching someone something is so that they can eventually apply the knowledge without your guidance.” 

“Eventually.” Solas pronounced slowly. Maiuma bit her lip and her fingers found the ring on her index. “For someone who is so afraid of failing in front of others, you sure like to create problems for yourself that set you up to do just that.” He lowered his voice, and stepped closer. She fought to stay her ground as his pale eyes pierced hers. “You forget the company that you are presently in. If any Chantry agent hears three words about your inability to control your magic, they will not hesitate to cut you down- and I will be next for failing to teach you that.” She blinked. He was afraid. He was lashing out at her because she was threatening his ability to stay with the Inquisition and fulfill his plans. She nodded, not daring to say anything more to him.  _ “ _ _ Ma vasreëm.” _ He said, and she had to think about what it meant before slowly turning and taking herself away from him. 

As suddenly as she felt water aching to leave her eyes, she also felt the log behind her burst into flames again. The flames must’ve been large because Solas nearly shrieked at the sight- or perhaps the proximity. She gained some satisfaction knowing that she did have at least that much control over her magic now, but it did very little to soothe the ache in her chest. On her way back to her tent, she locked eyes with Cassandra who opened her mouth to say something and then immediately closed it, offering Maiuma a rare look of pity. She was tired of being pitied. She didn’t need it. She needed to be back in Ohio, at her childhood home, practicing for a recital or preparing for an education conference of some sort. She really wasn’t made with Thedas in mind. She didn’t think like these people, and she couldn’t do what they did. She reached in her papa’s satchel and procured his prized pipe. She wasn’t a smoker at all and likely didn’t even know how to work one of these but it did give her a small comfort to be close to something normal. A normal piece of her normal life. 

“What’s his problem?” Chivi’s voice appeared behind her. 

“That’s a pretty nice piece, Melody.” Varric told her when she turned to face them. She climbed out of the tent and sat in an intimate circle with her two friends and held it out for him to see better. “Woah, the craftsmanship on this thing…” He reached out to stroke the wood. He cupped the claw in his palm. “I would say it rivals Bianca, but, you know.” He joked and Chivi punched his arm lightly. 

“You and that damn crossbow, Varric! My first official act as Herald of Andraste might as well be ordaining your wedding to it.”

“That would be nice.” He nodded approvingly. Maiuma couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled out of her throat. “So where’d you get your smoker from?” He turned back to her.

“It was my papa’s, back in… Well, where I’m from.” She said, rubbing the wood in almost a medicinal fashion. 

“Well I would be mad at you if I were him. That pipe is far too pretty for anyone to lay hands on it.” Chivi told them with a smile.

“Of course you would be. You Dalish are the heaviest smokers I ever heard of. I’m surprised you don’t sound like me yet.” Varric chuckled and Chivi scream-laughed. 

“Hey, look, I’m only a little Dalish so lucky for you guys, I still have lungs.” She laid eyes on Maiuma. “Hey Da’blar? Why does your dad need such a fancy pipe?  _ Mar bae re Dalish _ ?” Chivi asked snidely.

“I’m pretty sure you meant  _ Mar bae Dalish _ ? The  _ re _ is implied.” She cut back. Chivi’s eyes widened. 

“ _ E! Itha Mar’lin _ ! The non-dalish is correcting my Elven! You saw that, right, Varric?” She leaned over to Varric who shrugged. 

“To be honest, I don’t know what either of you are talking about. I just think the pipe is pretty cool.” He stated simply, causing all three of them to erupt into laughter. When it died down, she saw Cassandra talking to Solas just far enough to be out of earshot. He was wearing the same plastic expression, barely blinking, just nodding. Just then, Cassandra threw a hand on the blade at her hip and Solas spun around as if readying for an ambush. Out of the brush came Leliana and a few of her men. They chatted for a moment and then Cassandra took a hard, long look at Maiuma and Chivi before nodding and walking over. Solas joined her. Whatever mercy and pity there had been in her expression earlier no longer existed. 

“We move now. We are only a few leagues away from Haven.” Then she looked at Varric and Solas for a moment. “I will not be accompanying you. There is a matter requiring my urgent attention in Val Royeaux, and as you are the Herald and the Bulwark respectively, closely guarded by two very competent members of the Inquisition, I trust that you will have no trouble getting there by yourselves.” It was obvious that Cassandra was uncomfortable with the idea- whether she expected them to desert or die was a mystery to Maiuma, but what wasn’t a mystery was the way Maiuma feared the beginnings of a smile on Cassandra’s lips. She had rarely ever seen her smile in person and it was not pleasant. Not this one at least. “You are to report immediately to Commander Cullen upon arrival. Understood?” She addressed everyone. Maiuma nodded and Solas bowed his head. He refused to look at her. 

“Yes ma’am.” Varric vocalized in a much more chipper manner than she was expecting. Maiuma knew that she probably trusted Varric the most out of anyone in the group, and by that respect, he could check Solas, Solas could check Maiuma, and she could check Chivi if it came down to one of them stepping out of line. 

“I will see you in Haven before long.” She told them and then promptly disappeared into the forest with Leliana and her men. The rest of them packed up their supplies and began the trek back with a minimal amount of chatter. It wasn’t until an hour and a half into their journey, when Chivi got so bored she had no choice but to strike up a conversation that they resumed them.

“I’m gonna go talk to Solas, mkay?” She told Maiuma. She nodded wearily. She had never experienced him acting so aloof before. She had no idea how long his cool down time was. “So, Master Fade Expert Solas,” She started out. Maiuma withheld a chuckle at the glare Chivi received. 

“So what happened between you guys?” Varric asked her politely. “Honestly, we all noticed the tension a while ago, but no one expected him to go ballistic like that. I’ve never really seen him do anything more than frown.” Maiuma sighed.

“I have no idea why it was happening before. As far as I’m concerned, I hadn’t done anything wrong until this morning.”

“She must know the difference between simple exploration and foolish endangerment.” Solas’s voice raised enough for her to hear. She stopped walking for a moment, allowing Chivi and Solas to speak further away. Varric smiled patiently and kept to her pace. 

“What were you thinking about this morning? You know, when the log thing happened.” He asked. 

“Truth be told, I was thinking about the things he’s been saying about my magic. How dangerous it is. How hard I have to try to keep it under wraps.” 

“That must be tough on you. I hear you’re fairly new to your powers, but you learn like no one he’s ever seen before.” He admitted. She stared at the back of Solas’s head as they talked. “You’re like every magic teacher’s wet dream.” Varric said and Maiuma overextended a step causing her to fall forward. She caught herself on her hands and knees, but had to stay there for a while to regain herself. She burst out into laughter and Varric chuckled along.

“You have such a weird way with words.” 

“Da’blar!” Chivi ran back to help her up. Solas was wearing his mask, same as usual, but had followed Chivi to her side nonetheless. “How are you this clumsy? I can’t believe this silly girl from Ohio island kicked the shit out of a Pride demon and tore its guts out the first day I met her.”

“I think you’re glorifying it just a little. I didn’t rip any guts out of anything.” Suddenly, she had the urge to check to see if her spirit blade was still with her. Luckily, it was still in her hoodie pocket. 

“I’ll admit, it was admirable- however clumsy you may be outside of battle.” Solas said. Maiuma just nodded, but her eyes might’ve rolled ever so slightly. 

“Thanks. I guess.” They began walking again, and by the time they reached the top of the hill they were on, Haven was fully visible below. No one spoke again until they were just outside the gates.

“Hey, I got a really bad itch from the waist up.” Chivi told them. 

“Is that why you’ve been scratchin’ like a dog, Herald?” Varric joked. Chivi tried to get air into her shirt. 

“I think it’s the material of this tunic.” 

“So the Herald might’ve been chosen by Andraste, herself, but she is still sensitive to rough wool.” Maiuma gibed. In truth, she was just as sensitive to the lack of fabric softener. 

“I ain’t sensitive to nothin’! I’ll just… dip in and change… To be more presentable… For… my subjects.” Chivi excused. “Tell Cullen I’ll be there in a few.” 

“No problem, Your highness.” 

“You’re not a queen, you know.” Maiuma reminded her. Chivi scoffed.

“Being queen’s not exactly my style anyway.” She concluded, walking away. “Hey, Master Fade Expert Solas, don’t be mean to Ma’blar while I’m not there.” Solas clicked his tongue. 

“Ridiculous.” He turned in the direction of the Chantry. 

“Hey, I would be a little more passive than aggressive there, buddy.” Varric warned. 

“More like ass-ive.” Maiuma muttered. Varric snickered under his breath, but shot her a look and walked ahead of her and Solas. “Solas, I’m not a very indirect person. If I have a problem with you, I’ll tell you.” She told him. From the corner of her eye, she saw him incline his head. “I would hope that if you are holding onto any negative feelings, you would do the same.” 

“I bear no ill intent for you.” He told her someone coldly, but it was a start. 

“No ill intent, but still some harsh feelings.” 

“Perhaps…” He conceded. She nodded and he sighed. “Lady Maium-”

“No. Don’t do that. It’s weird.” She told him, hoping that it would lighten his mood even a little. 

“Maiuma,” He said after a while. “I… Ir abelas for this morning. I was crueler than was necessary.” 

“Thank you for your apology. Did I do something wrong? I mean, besides overthinking?” She eyed him. He stopped and turned to her. She stopped too.

“What I said might have been harsh, but it was both true and necessary to remind you of the risks of becoming too lenient with your magic. Beyond that…” He cast his eyes to the side. She stepped a little closer. 

“Beyond that?”

“Hey, Melody. You ever heard of doppelgangers?” Varric asked her, standing eerily still. Just then, she noticed raised voices outside the Chantry. “An old human myth, you know. Where there’s two of you. One normal and one evil?”

“Why do you ask?” She wondered, catching up with him and noticing he was staring straight ahead at the commotion.

“Well… Because there’s… two… of you…” He explained. She took a step to the side and directly into the shoulder of a large soldier. The man scoffed at her for a millisecond, and then his face dropped like he’d seen a ghost. When he moved to the side, she caught a glimpse of familiar red locks. Green eyes. She ran to the woman, who had two blades extended on her either side. She seemed to be surrounded by Cullen’s recruits.

“What are you doing here?” She questioned frantically. 

"What? You?" Her twin's round eyes widened. 

"No way..."

“Jesus Christ Superstar on a cracker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy happy Monday (night)! This is our first chapter update in 2021! How exciting. I hope everyone's doing well in the new year. 
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Dar’eth Shiral, Esme. Nuva Sylaise i Andruil ama na. Nuva mar’shos’lahn’en ir’tel’dera Fen’Harel.- Go safely, Esme. May Sylaise and Andruil watch over you. May the Dreadwolf never hear your footsteps.   
> Sule tael tasalal, asa'ma'lin.- Until we meet again, Sister.   
> Ahn Silas?- What are you thinking? (A phrase I invented to mask the distinct nonexistence of phrases like "What are you doing?" or "What do you think you're doing?" on the Fenxshiral database.   
> Ma vasreëm- Lit. You are freed. (I wanted something that was similar to "You are dismissed." You know, to really hit home that Solas is being an asshole hahren. Alternatively, I was thinking of using Ane vasreëm, which means "You are free", but it also lacks the arrogance of the implication that Solas is the one doing the freeing instead of her being able to go without his say-so. A very minor difference, but I've always been under the impression that the Elvhen language is very literal and it would be interpreted as such. The difference between those two translations is something that Solas would be aware of and anticipating, as a native speaker. And an asshole general and god in the olden times.   
> Mar bae re Dalish/ Mar bae re Dalish- Is your dad Dalish? Again, a very simple difference of the verb for to be (ea, or re in this context) being implied.  
> E! Itha Mar’lin!- Oh! Look at yourself! Now this one is another invented phrase. I intended for this to be sort of a cross between saying "Well, look at you!" and "Watch yourself!" I imagine Chivi might've heard it from her Dalish elders at somepoint, because she's probably gotten smart with a few of them in her time.
> 
> Geez. Who are the women in Maiuma's dream? What's up with the ring she found? What's up with Solas this chapter? And who is this mysterious woman with Maiuma's face? Does Chivi have a wool allergy? How dramatic. See you guys next week!


	16. Chapter 15: Seeing Double

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma confirms an identity. Solas finds out that Mai was not who he thought. Cullen and Roderick squabble like the clowns they are.

Solas watched as Cullen’s soldiers moved closer to the other woman, but she was quick to poise her long blades in anticipation of them. Maiuma didn’t move an inch as she stared at her doppelganger. The woman gazed back at Maiuma, mouth agape, her lips slowly curling into a smile.

“Raindrop.”

“What the hell?” Maiuma exclaimed. The other woman frowned. 

“No, it’s… You’re supposed to say droptop. Cause I said...”

“Lady Bulwark, we found this imposter loitering around the outside of the village. She claimed to be you, coming back from something called a Venatori camp. On secret orders from the Herald and Seeker.” One of the soldiers said pointedly at the imposter.

"There was a disagreement between the mages and former templars, and she stepped in to intervene." Cullen told them, referencing the two halves of the angry crowd- though most of the templar soldiers had broken the formation to surround the woman with Maiuma's face.

“Okay, it was an obscure reference anyways, but technically y’all were the ones who started calling me Lady Bulwark in the first place, and might I say, I had no incentive at all to tell you otherwise.” The imposter confessed. Her mannerisms were strangely vast from that of Maiuma’s. They were in fact, polar opposites, but Solas was reading almost the exact same energy from their beings. He had been able to attribute it to being thrust out of a rift directly from the Fade when there was one of her, but now there were two. Something felt more complicated about this, and the fact that he couldn't presently tell was even more concerning than two of the same person conversing in front of him.

"What were you doing in a Venatori camp?" Maiuma spoke with a terseness that further threw him. 

"Lady Bulwark, stand back. We shall exterminate the imposter where it stands. It is obviously some kind of demon or duplicate the rebel mages have cooked up in order to thwart the Inquisition.” Cullen said.

“No.” She demanded. “Let her answer.” 

“What do you think I was doing there? Trying to keep them off a’ you! Well, the Inquisition at least. Believe it or not, I actually had no idea you even existed here.” The imposter spoke candidly, with almost a relief coloring her last sentence. 

“Me neither.” 

“Wait, since there’s two of us now, do you think we should fight for dominance? Like in a cool, western showdown kinda way.”

“Theoretically, if you were a demon or a clone, following me from the Fade or otherwise, there would be ways to prove that you're not who you say you are.”

“Technically, I said I was you, and now we already know that I’m not, so...” The imposter had long since relaxed and withdrew her weapons back to her sides. They were still unsheathed, so there was a possibility that she could attack Maiuma at any moment. Maiuma circled her for a while, then suddenly jumped into some sort of position and started tapping her toes and heels to her words, spoken in rhythm.

“If you want to make it to the top, then you’re gonna have to go through me.” She proclaimed. 

“Really? Right now? Like in front of the whole Inquisition.” The imposter spoke incredulously, but still somewhat amused. 

“ Cause on the top is where I live. And I will not be giving up that easily. So there.” Maiuma finished with some sort of flourish. The imposter didn’t miss a beat, sheathing her weapons and preparing to answer. 

“Oh man I have been waiting for this moment for so long. I'm gonna enjoy it when I knock you off your perch.” The imposter stepped and spoke in the same fashion. 

“Oh no you won’t.” 

“Oh yes I will.”

“Oh no you won’t.”

“Oh yes I will.”

“Oh no you won’t.”

“Oh yes I will.”

“Oh no you won't- my accomplishments are much more accomplished than yours.” Maiuma upstaged the imposter, who smirked and swept her foot in a crescent, narrowly avoiding Maiuma, as she leapt out of the way.

“In your dreams. I am the best.”

“You can't be the best because I am the best. I have written 12 plays and each one is a testament to my great skill. I am the Will. And I wrote the Taming of the Shrew and Richard III and Richard II and Henry's IV, V, VI. And Titus Andronicus. And oh, did I forget? Romeo... and Juliet.” Maiuma’s words and steps came quicker, and much more fluently as she encroached upon the imposter’s space. The imposter merely nodded in approval.

“Will someone tell me what in the Void is going on right now? Why are there two  _ Da’blars _ , and why are they dancing?” Chivi’s voice rang out from behind him, but it didn’t seem to phase either woman, as the imposter began again. 

“Well I have just written the thing that the critics are calling the greatest thing they've ever seen. The people are loving it- can't get enough of it. Everyone, even including the Queen.

She recently invited me to her castle where she knighted me and privately she told me that you're not any good, not any good, not any good, not any good, and she told me that all of your plays make her vomit and none of them's good as my musical Omelette.” The imposter finished with a grand pose and a bow. Maiuma stood still where she was and then shrieked and threw her legs around the other woman’s waist, squeezing the air out of her. 

“Dude, you’re fuckin’ heavy.” The imposter told Maiuma, but nonetheless, returned the affection. The two embraced like long-lost friends.

“You missed the last 5 moves. You completely made all of that up.” She said into the imposter’s hair. 

“I know, but it’s like I can’t keep the rhythm after the queen line. It just messes up my psyche because it goes from 12 to 4 right into 1 and then back into 12. Plus the ground is a little uneven here, so I-”

“Lady Bulwark!” Cullen finally interjected. “What is going on?” The two women turned to him and Maiuma removed herself from the other woman’s form, taking her hand instead. 

“Oh. I’m so sorry!”

“He looks mad. Aren't you friends with him already?” The imposter whispered to her, face blanker than before. 

“Chivi, you know how I told you that I left someone at home when I got sucked up into the Fade? Someone who reminded me of you?” 

“Aww the Herald reminds you of me?” The imposter delighted, and Maiuma clamped a hand over her mouth to quiet her. 

“My twin sister.” She finished. Solas felt the tension in the air take on a whole different texture.    


“Your what?” Cullen and Chivi both blurted. Maiuma had told him she missed someone from the island dearly, but she never mentioned a twin.

“My twin sister, Ti-”

“Thomas Nostradamus, at your service.” Thomas bowed to the Herald and Commander. 

“That’s not your name.” Maiuma pointed out. ‘Thomas’ gave her a sharp look, which she returned with no small amount of animosity. The other woman sighed and rolled her eyes. 

“Fine. The name’s Tira. It's really longer than that, just don’t feel like sayin’ it.” Solas immediately recognized the familiar phrase. Chivi had said it to him in the very beginning after the first rift. Maiuma had always said Chivi reminded her of someone- but this was uncanny. 

“I still think she’s a demon. That little dance didn’t prove anything to me.” One of the soldiers shouted, and some of the others rallied in agreement. 

“Solas?” Chivi was suddenly beside him. He took a long look at Tira as he determined how much he should tell them.

“I do not sense any demonic energy about her, nor any possession.” He stated simply. Tira turned to him and tilted her head to the side like a marbari pup. Then she grinned deviously, not unlike what Chivi was capable of. 

“Ask her something. Something that only you two would know.” Chivi compromised. Maiuma took a long moment to think before turning to her sister and breathing in. 

“42.” Tira answered, before Maiuma had even said a word. 

“I was not going to ask you that.” Maiuma shook her head, apparently knowing exactly what question she was answering. He wondered what the number 42 could have been the answer to. He made a mental note to ask her later.

“Oh, okay. I just thought we had a twin telepathy thing goin’ on. I guess not.”

“Tira, shut up.”

“Yes’m.” Tira conceded and pushed her coarse red hair behind a human ear. Solas registered it at the same time Chivi audibly gasped. 

“She’s human!” Chivi commented. “Get her!” The soldiers moved to apprehend the imposter, but Maiuma stepped in front of her. 

“Wait!” She demanded. “What?” 

"Get away from her, _Da'blar_. Whoever this is got your form wrong." Chivi told her. Unwrapping her scarf, Maiuma hastily tucked her hair behind her ear. It was round as an apple. Solas couldn’t mask his confusion, nor the horror that he’d actually believed she was anything but human. Every eye fled across the space, searching for answers that were nowhere to be found. “I am not an elf.” Maiuma looked just as confused as any of them.

“They thought you were an elf?” Tira snorted.

“I didn’t think so…” Maiuma said, then a thought occurred to her. “Actually, suddenly everything makes sense now.”

“Okay, that’s actually really tragic, but it also kinda makes so much sense.” Tira admitted with humor.

“Wait a minute, cutie. Your whole… Thing…?” Varric tried. 

“I never at all said I was.” Maiuma admitted, and for the life of him, Solas couldn’t remember a time in which she specifically said she was an elf. They’d all just assumed. Could she have just been a small human with elven-esque features? She even spoke Elvhen with a fluency that could put many Dalish to shame!

“Your arms... You have vallaslin!” Chivi pressed. Maiuma’s eyes went wide and starry as she stared straight ahead at Chivi. The marks on her fingers! They were vallaslin?

“I… It’s not permanent! It was actually kind of an accident.” She told them. 

“Accident my ass! You still have yours too?” Tira rolled up her sleeves to reveal vallaslin on her arms. Andruil’s. 

“Yes! I do!” Maiuma did not look pleased. 

“No way- uh… The day before we got sucked into the rift, I gave both of us vallaslin in ink- there’s no blood in the markings.” Tira rolled up Maiuma’s sleeves to reveal writing of her own. The vallaslin he had forbade his followers from using on their faces. What should’ve possessed two human women to don fake vallaslin? He was suddenly overwhelmed by an obscene curiosity and a modicum of disgust. “Mine are in dedication to Andruil and hers to Fen-” Her eyes fell to him with an indiscernible emotion, and then fluttered to Chivi. “Fe- Fen’harel… Okay, okay, okay. I see how this can be misunderstood.”

“You’re damn right it can be misunderstood!” Chivi confirmed. “You have five seconds to explain yourselves.”

“Okay. But can we do it without all the swords and their pointy templar soldiers? Let’s be reasonable. I know you don’t have a reason to trust me, but I think you have plenty of reason to trust Uma, otherwise she wouldn’t be hangin’ with the Inquisition.” Tira reasoned. Chivi was silent for a while- no doubt contemplating. 

“Solas, Varric, twins, with me in the Chantry.” Chivi ordered.

“Herald!” Cullen called. “Surely you’re not going to try handling this by yourself! You scarcely have the authority. We must wait until Sister Leliana and the Seeker return.” He pushed. Solas had momentarily forgotten about the two. They wouldn't like this information upon their arrival. 

“Commander Cullen, help me out.” Chivi pleaded. “I’m the Herald, right? It might be days before they get back. We’re not just gonna stand here waiting until then.”

“We cannot just trust that this woman is only here to reunite with her sister.”

“I’m not.” Tira added unhelpfully, her face still blank. Chivi sighed. 

“Please, Commander. Handle your people and I’ll handle this. At least for now. Just until the Sister and Seeker get back.” Chivi eyed the mages and former templars, who had grown to seem more like one confused mob rather than two warring factions. Cullen’s eyes assessed the scene. With a deep breath, he finally nodded and turned on the crowd.

“This argument is over.”

“Knight-Commander!” A soldier protested. 

“That is not my title. We are  _ not _ templars any longer.” He said to all the soldiers, then he turned to the mages. “We are  _ all  _ part of the Inquisition!” He told them as the Chancellor from before in the mountains sauntered up. 

“And what does that mean, exactly?” He questioned Cullen. From the corner of his eye, Solas saw Tira throw her head back and his ears picked up an exasperated sigh. Maiuma shook her head and elbowed her sister. 

“Back already, Chancellor? It would seem you have better timing than most of the Inquisition’s officials.” Cullen intoned. 

“I’m curious, Commander, as to how your Inquisition and its ‘Herald and Bulwark’- sorry- its Herald, Bulwark, and the rest of its terribly misinformed ranks will restore order as you’ve promised. How could you? Working amongst misguided mages and ill-judged apostates.”

“Why do I feel like he’s picking on one specific group of people?” Tira inquired humorously. 

“Because he is.” Maiuma told her much more quietly. The Chancellor settled his malevolent gaze on the two. 

“Can one blame me? The-” 

“Yes.” Tira boldly interrupted. The Chancellor’s face wrinkled up even more. Tira was so unlike Maiuma it was actually just as startling as the realization that they were both human. 

“Herald, I think we should…” Maiuma suggested, using Chivi’s title for perhaps the first time since it was dubbed. Chivi’s eyes darted over to Cullen and Cullen nodded, sighing. 

“Regardless of who we employ and what paths they have chosen previously, what matters is the Inquisition’s goals and how we pursue them.” Cullen spoke what Solas could sense he didn’t really feel. Nonetheless, most everyone else seemed to believe him, and the Chancellor had shut his mouth. “This argument is over. Again.” He dismissed the crowd and stayed to manage the former templars. Those conscripted to follow the Herald did so. Surprisingly, he couldn’t feel the press of Maiuma’s  _ deral’nas _ , which was possibly the only reason Cullen and the former templars agreed to put the matter to rest so easily. She was learning to hide her emotions fairly well aside from the morning’s incident. And if she were doing that well, he wondered if Tira was even better at concealing her magic, or if she didn’t have any at all. He had no idea. He couldn’t sense it at all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday! Happy, happy Monday!
> 
> No Elvhen today! For the first time in... well... I don't think we've ever had a chapter without a lick of Elvhen in it! Regardless, there's some really obscure references in here- perhaps in lieu of foreign language. I guess you can't have culture AND jokes. The really big one where they do the tap routine comes from a musical called Something Rotten. I would highly recommend it. Very funny and topical. This specific bit comes from a number called Bottom's Gonna Be on Top. If you have no interest in watching the whole musical, at least take the song for a spin! https://youtu.be/GSvDzg3Up70?t=117
> 
> I was trying to figure out a way that they could instantly recognize each other- a handshake or a childhood song or something- and I realized that they're both huge nerds, so an elaborate reference to a funny and old-timey show would do. After all, there will be plenty of time for more twin bonding goofs soon enough. 
> 
> P.s. We finally figure out that Mai's not an elf... well, those of us who thought she was. I wonder how much it will affect her relationship with her current companions. How will Cassie and Leli react to the double news of human twins? What is Chancellor Roderick's deal? Why can't he leave the mages and apostates alone? Will Tira punch him in the head before anyone can stop her?
> 
> If you guys have anymore questions or answers, share them down in the comments! As always, see you in the next one!


	17. Chapter 16: Ohio Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls have some explaining to do.

Chivi’s pace toward the war room was brisk, and her aura was big. It flared with the power of the mark in a stasis of half-anger, and half… something else. Thankfully her emotions didn't quite have the same effect as Maiuma's when she was upset. 

“Herald,” Solas called. She turned to him for half a breath. “I would remind you to keep your emotions in check.” He dipped his eyes to her hand and back. Soon after, the feeling was gone. When they reached the war room, Chivi immediately pulled up a chair, where Solas might have expected her to sit on the floor or the war table itself. Tira, however, did sit on the war table, and Maiuma quickly cautioned her against it. Maiuma pulled up a chair on the opposite side of him, and refused to meet his gaze. She had already covered back up her ears and her temporary vallaslin, looking shy and nervous. Her markings would definitely explain why she was so reluctant to wear anything without very long sleeves- and the tips of the vallaslin on her fingers that she refused to tell him about. Tira sat on the back of Maiuma’s chair, feet on either side of Maiuma's hips, fearlessly brandishing her ears and markings. Her hungry eyes took in the entire setting, as if she were surprised and pleased to be there. Chivi took a deep breath in through her nose, alerting everyone that the meeting was convening.

“Okay. What?” She exclaimed past her interlaced fingers. 

“Um, do you want us to start at human or vallaslin, or-” Tira inquired unhelpfully.

“Anywhere would be great!” Chivi seemed much more tired than she had been mere minutes ago. “Who are you really?”

“Well,” Maiuma started. “Everything I told you about where we’re from is correct. I never lied about anything.”

“So, you are from this weird island called Ohio.” Maiuma nodded, and Tira’s face was blank again. He had yet to determine whether it was a facade like the one he donned, or pure absence of thought that drew her features so neutrally. “On which there exist elves, qunari, dwarves, and humans, all coexisting in harmony.”

“All true.” Maiuma confirmed.

“That might be a little different than what I told the soldiers. I said that I hail from an island called Detinu Setats.” Tira spoke up. Maiuma looked up at her, and they seemed to have a sort of conversation with only their eyes before Chivi spoke again.

“So which one is true?”

“Both, technically.” Tira continued. “The island that we are from is called Ohio. It resides in a region called Detinu Setats, which I knew the soldiers wouldn’t know anything about anyway, so I kinda… Paraphrased. The region exists in a part of what you know as the Amaranthine Ocean, and it’s super tiny and obscure, which is why you’ve probably never heard of it.”

“Hold up, beautiful. You tellin’ me you guys are from the Amaranth?” Varric chimed in. “No one’s from there. Ever. It’s the most treacherous land that we know of.”

“Yeah, or so you Thedosians think. Just because you haven’t heard of it or been there yourself doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” Tira tossed back. "Before this month, I had never seen Thedas with my own eyes."

“You two don’t sound like islanders.” Chivi mentioned. Maiuma nodded once.

“I don’t think I got your name, dwarf.” Tira mentioned. Varric crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. 

“The name’s Varric. Tethras.”

“A pleasure, Varric. You ever been to the Amaranth?” Tira's eyes glided between Chivi, Varric, and Solas. “Any of you?”

“Well, tell us more.” Solas bade her when no one spoke up. Some of the pieces about them were starting to click, but there was just so much to their story. 

“We don’t really know a whole lot about the lands beyond the peninsula we're attached to, but the Setats are only made up of two other islands. Canada, and New York. We’re a hodgepodge crew of immigrants and their descendants with about twenty different cultures poured and stirred into one.” Tira concluded. “They call it a-”

“Melting pot.” Solas supplied. Both women nodded. He remembered that Maiuma had used those exact words before.

“What happened to Olde York?” Varric inquired. 

“It sank. We don’t talk about it.” Maiuma spoke up, pressing her lips into a line. Tira put a hand on her shoulder lightly. Maiuma placed her hand overtop.

“As for why we have vallaslin…” Mai edged, looking at Tira critically. 

“So there are all different types in Ohio, right?” Tira began. “We happen to have some elven friends who are not all Dalish, but are super into late Elvhen history. You know, how things really went down when the elves took refuge in the Dales. So on, so forth.” She looked around and everyone nodded, so she continued. “Well anyway, we have this thing in Ohio called henna. It’s a paste that comes from an indigenous plant that stains skin and clothes, so as a part of some traditions, we mark ourselves with it in beautiful, flowery designs to honor… Well, whatever we’re honoring on that day, or for that month.”

“Ti considers herself an expert in henna art.” Maiuma added.

“Uh, the best.” Tira was very confident on that . In fact, she seemed very confident on everything. “Anyway, I may or may not have been listening to too many of David’s wild ancient Elvhen society theories, and got a little carried away.”

“Who’s David?” Varric asked. Solas did not miss the look in his eyes. Varric was absorbing all the information he could. 

“Oh, David Gaider? He’s like our leading theorist on all things Elvhen.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s Canadian.” She said, as if that explained why he was so invested in the histories, or what qualified him to speak on them. Maiuma’s lips twitched up and her brows furrowed as if she were remembering something about David. 

“Tira tricked me into whole arm henna and conveniently neglected to tell me what she was doing.” She bit, turning on her sister. 

“I did not! I’m sorry you look better in bold concentric lines and waves then radiating and merging.” Tira excused. Maiuma’s eyes found Chivi’s in a sort of exasperation. “Also, if she were to honor any Elvhen god, it would be Fen’harel. She’s a total devil’s advocate. Always has been.”

“So I deserve to be punished with his vallaslin?” Maiuma inquired.

“Listen girl, I’m just saying. It’s not as much of an insult for you as it would be for… Literally anyone else.” 

“Is it usually an insult?” Varric weighed in. 

“You want a pen and paper, dude?” Tira smiled knowingly at Varric. It was strange to see just how easily the two of them got on with Varric upon first meeting him. Perhaps they’d known a friendly dwarf just like him in Ohio, in the same way Chivi immediately reminded Maiuma of Tira. “It is, depending on who you ask.” 

“Which is most people.” Chivi confirmed. 

“Most people except Uma.” Tira told them. Maiuma shrugged and shook her head.

“I guess I’m too moderate for this conversation, then.” She lightly complained. Tira snorted at her, rustling her hair. 

“Well, that’s one thing we all already knew about ya.” Varric told them with a smirk.

“I like you already, dwarf.” Tira declared. “How’s the meeting minutes goin’?”

“Well, you offered pen and paper, but I ain’t seen any yet.” He stated, eyes glinting humorously. 

“So this is all to say that Tira was playing a prank… with certain justified pretenses… on you, on some sort of day of celebration in Ohio.” Chivi got straight back to the point.

“Precisely.” Tira agreed. 

“Alright.” 

“That, of course, doesn’t explain how you two broads walked out of two separate rifts if you came from the same one.” Varric stated, still eyeing Tira. 

“Unfortunately, I don’t know that one either.” Tira said.

“It is entirely possible, because of the nature of the Fade, that even if they entered the same rift seconds apart, it would only take it those several seconds to create or react to another ripple across its fabric at the very same time, and send them into two different places- or even times.” Solas contributed, having thought about it back when Varric mentioned doppelgangers.

“Makes sense to me. I mean, it really doesn’t, but I trust him.” Tira deduced. 

“You don’t even know me.”

“Look, like I said, you guys’ve been looking after my sister for this long. If she trusts you, so do I. Unless you give me a reason not to.” She wagered, expression turning serious for a fraction of a second, and then returning to a neutral smile. 

“Hey, I’ve got a question.” Maiuma turned to her sister, who hummed in confirmation. “How did my fanny pack come through the rift with me?” Maiuma said. Tira’s jaw dropped open.

“That’s your big question, after all this?” She criticized. “I threw it at you, you dork! I walked into the old man’s room to cheer you up and I saw your face getting sucked into a rift. I would’ve thrown a whole healthcare system at you if I’d had time before I jumped in after you.”

“Why did you have my bag?” 

“Uh… Because… Ya know, I don’t care to discuss it, actually.” Tira decided.

“Is she always this suspicious? That’s exactly the kind of answer that would’ve made every single man out there believe she was a demon.” Chivi pointed out. 

“Actually, yeah. How did you even know it was me? I could literally be any kind of demon.” Tira gasped. “What kind of demon would I be, Umi? Wait, don’t say anything- It would depend on what kinda spirit I was first, right?” She pondered to herself.

“I know that this is my sister and not a demon, simply because a demon would be trying much harder to stay alive. It would’ve given me a straightforward answer the second I requested it, whether or not it ended up being wrong. Demons can be powerful and tricky, but they can’t always grasp our complex reasoning and funnel them into responses. Especially if they’re all over the place like hers.” She seemed to have a lot of experience on the matter. Now his theory that she’d gotten her demon purifying powers from being exposed to the raw Fade was crumbling. Could it be possible that she would know all this about demons, but still not have a clue how she was able to remold their natures?

“Hey! Wait, should I be trying harder? Wait! Should I have accused you of being a demon?” 

“ _Wux._ Don’t change your stance now! We’re already convinced!” Maiuma chided. Tira shut her mouth and nodded tightly, casting her gaze to the ground. She held her thumbs out to Maiuma. 

“Well, this has been a very… Overwhelming development… But I have one more question for you, Tira.” Chivi leaned back in her seat. “What were you doing in the Venatori camp? Who are they and how exactly were you keeping them off our backs?” 

“Wow, that’s a very good question. You see, when we fell through the rifts, Maiuma here fell straight into the warm, safe arms of the good guys,” He could’ve chuckled at the accuracy of the statement. “and I fell right on my face in front of the bad ones.” She told them. “I didn’t know who those men were, or what they were planning to do, but I happen to have superior survival instincts, so I quickly became one of them, to at the very least stay alive. Trust me, the vetting process over there is not very rigorous.” She proclaimed. “So I was rolling with them for a while when they kept talking about thwarting the Inquisition, and helping a guy with a really weird name. And if my papa ever taught me one thing, it’s to-”

“Never trust a man with four syllables in his name.” Maiuma and Tira said at the same time. “That was a joke, Tira! He absolutely didn't really mean it.”

“Yeah well, if the shoe fits… And it did, so I kept thinking… ‘I gotta get over there and join the good guys!’ but first, I had to throw some wrenches in the other guys’ plans. And not long after that, I found Haven and your dummies with swords showed up calling me Maiuma. I just hopped on board and hoped that I would get to see her again.” She finished, and Maiuma hugged her. It was apparent they’d missed one another dearly, and he thought he saw Chivi soften the tiniest bit at the display. 

“Alright, well, thanks for the answers, ladies. Meeting is adjourned. I’m not actually the final say in this, so have fun explaining all this to the Sister, the Seeker, and the Commander.” She scooted her chair out and stood up, stretching out. “Oh, and Tira?” 

“Uhuh?”

“Welcome to the Inquisition, if they like you.”

“This is so crazy. I can’t believe I’m really here. Umi, pinch me.” She held her arm out, but when Maiuma did as she asked, she jumped off of the chair and smacked her elbow on the war table. “Ow! It was a joke!”

“Wow, that’s the funniest joke you’ve ever made.” Maiuma teased blankly. 

“I do feel some things, you know.” Tira admitted. Solas could already tell that if having only one of them in the Inquisition was a handful, two of them would be absolute chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, friends!
> 
> "Island speak" (This is a new concept!)-  
> Wux: This is a phrase that basically can be used as a "Hey, you!" If someone is being annoying or difficult. It is most usually accompanied by tongue clicking and ferociously jutting your chin out at the person.
> 
> Island Speak is what the girls call the little bits and pieces of foreign phrases that they learned from their dad. They are not assured of its origin, and have never heard anyone else speaking it, but they use it quite frequently in conversation amongst themselves. This is just a little taste of it!
> 
> It feels good to be reunited again, don't you think? Good and chaotic, but not quite chaotic good, if you know what I mean ;) Comment some things you noticed about the girls' banter. 
> 
> See you guys next week!


	18. Chapter 17: Catching Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maiuma, Chivi, and Tira catch up.

“I just don’t get it. You never even mentioned a twin.” Chivi told Maiuma in a disbelief that hadn’t left her since they’d all convened at the Chantry. 

“Honestly, I just… I didn’t mean to deceive you.” Maiuma started, taking Tira’s hand. She’d missed her sorely and suddenly couldn’t stop touching her- as if to make sure she was real. “I didn’t know if I would ever see her again, so selfishly, I never really brought her up.” 

“It’s okay, I wouldn’t bring me up either, for real.” Tira joked. Maiuma pinched her.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m glad you guys are together again.” Chivi said, with something like sadness in her eyes. She was smiling, but Maiuma could tell she was thinking about something else. “So, Tira, what do you do?”

“I uh… Breathe. I eat, sometimes. Oh, sometimes I blink.” Tira told her.

“Only sometimes?” Maiuma snickered. Chivi chuckled along.

“Okay, smartass. What’s your position? You seemed pretty lethal with those blades out there. Your sister isn’t a fighter, but you must be a little more used to that kind of thing.” Tira glanced at Maiuma.

“Well, I’m not actually a fighter either, but when I need to be, I’m an archer. And a dual wield. Put me wherever you need me and I’ll do just fine.” 

“Wow. A little bit of a wildcard, aren’t ya?” Chivi inquired. Tira shrugged. “Is that what you did for the last crew you were riding with?” 

“Kinda. They didn’t really trust me with a lot of heavy work, so I was mostly a grunt but I like to think I’ve made something of a name for myself. Speaking of names… You’re the Herald. It’s pretty obvious how you got yours.” She looked at Chivi’s hand and Chivi reflexively turned her palm. “You wanna tell me why they’re calling you the Herald’s Bulwark?” She turned to Maiuma.

“I can answer you that one. On our way to the Conclave to try to close the Breach, she beat the shit out of a Pride demon for looking at me the wrong way!”

“I did not. It almost killed you!”

“Listen, your sister is so extremely powerful, it’s insane. Solas can barely keep a leash on her.”

“I see…” Tira’s face was blank, signifying that she was thinking really hard about a response. “So you uh… wear a leash with this Solas guy? That’s kinda kinky, Uma.” She commented. Chivi immediately erupted into snorts and cackled as Maiuma sputtered, searching for the proper rebuttal. 

“That’s not it! He just! He- trains me! I mean, he-” She smacked her forehead with her palm when Tira leaned back and made a face. She knew that Tira was joking, but it didn’t help that Chivi was sitting right next to them and Maiuma’s face was likely the color of her hair by now. “My magic! He trains my magic!” She finally squeezed out. Tira looked at her with an odd expression.

“Why would you need your magic trained? Has it been acting up lately?” She asked, obviously and expertly concealing the fact that she didn’t know Maiuma had magic in this world. She’d missed having Tira as an accomplice in risky schemes- although most of them were usually by Tira’s design anyway. 

“Acting up? Do you usually burst into flames when you do magic? Or is this some weird reaction to being off the island? Like an allergy?” Chivi inquired. 

“No. I… It’s never acted this way before. I mean, I’m not the greatest mage there ever was, but I’ve never had trouble with it like I’m having now.” She tried to explain. Chivi and Tira nodded. 

“Anyway, yeah. To answer your question, they think she’s my protector. My Maker-sent mage guardian. And until now, my elven kin.” She stared at Maiuma as if she were trying to imagine her with sharp ears. Then, she reached out to grab her existing human ones. “I still can’t believe it.”

“Aside from the vallaslin, why did you guys think I was an elf? I told you I wasn’t Dalish.”

“Yeah but usually when you have to say that to someone, it’s because you are someone who could have come from a clan… aka, an elf.” She told them. “Plus, you speak Elven like nobody’s business.”

“Well so does Josephine.” Maiuma excused. Chivi gave her a look. 

“ _ Ta’aven re eolasen _ ."

“ _ Ta’aven eolasen _ .” Maiuma and Tira said at the same time. Chivi gaped. 

“Seriously? You have better grammar than Trevalan’s First, and you have never treated me or Solas like elves.” Maiuma arched a brow at her. 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, not like that. It’s just, wherever you go, whatever you do, as an elf, people will only see you as that. They’ll see your pointy ears and skinny arms and think you’ll never amount to anything more than a mongrel elf. Nevermind if you’re stronger, or even trying to do right by them.” Chivi explained, casting her eyes down to her hand. Maiuma instinctively placed her hand on top of Chivi’s, careful not to disrupt the magic of the mark in any way. She smiled and shook her hand jokingly. “It doesn’t really matter. I just felt a sense of kinship with you because you didn’t do that. Sorry for assuming.”

“I mean, does she- do we even look enough like elves to be confused?” Tira asked. It was an excellent question. Even if she acted like an elf, there was no way she could pass if she didn’t look at least a little bit like one.

“Well, she wears that damn scarf all the time! How is anyone supposed to be able to see her ears to know?” Chivi joked. “You guys have got really big eyes and skinny arms and legs. You’re also shorter than a lot of other humans. Maiuma’s pretty curvy, which would be pretty telling if she ever took off that shapeless cloak.” Maiuma and Tira looked at one another. There was a lot of truth to what Chivi was saying. They’d always been relatively thin and lithe. They had big doe eyes that people back in Ohio often commented on, and if they couldn’t see her ears, Maiuma could definitely see why they would mistake her for an elf. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was being so… absent. Although, the way everyone has been treating me certainly makes sense now.” She reasoned. 

“The humans have been treating you like shit and the elves have been treating you nice.” Chivi told her. Maiuma nodded. 

“Well, I’m used to that kind of treatment from humans. Just for a different prejudice, I guess. The elves treating me like one of their own was pretty surprising though.” Maiuma looked at Chivi. “Sorry, that sounded weird. Thank you for treating me so kindly.” She bowed however deeply she could from her seated position. Chivi turned her face and snatched her hand away, realizing they’d still been connected. 

“Yeah, whatever.” Chivi got up and stretched out. “A little word of advice. If you want people to stop thinking you’re an elf, stop bowing to elves. To a lot of people, being an elf is pretty bad, but being a human who sympathises too much with elves is even worse.” She warned, and then sighed. “Anyway, all this information is giving me a headache. You guys wanna grab a drink? The tavern here’s pretty shitty, but the ale’ll get you drunk.”

“I don’t really drink.” Maiuma told her.

“Oh, trust me. I know. The invitation was for you to get some fresh air and socialize with other people, and for your sister to drink with me.” She smirked. Tira snickered. 

“I think you’re on.” She told Chivi. “Whaddya say, sissy?” 

“I guess. If you guys are thirsty, we can stop by.” Maiuma confirmed and Chivi winked at her, but before she could follow Chivi to the door, Tira grabbed her arm.

“Hey, Herald, is it cool if we hang back for a little bit? I don’t feel like getting up just yet.” 

“I’m way ahead of ya there. Looking at two of you at the same time was actually the thing giving me a headache.” Chivi said as she opened the door and waved. “I’ll meet you there.” After a few moments, Tira bounced out of her seated position and stealthily checked the window for Chivi’s retreating form. When the coast seemed to be clear, she turned back to Maiuma with a look of utter shock.

“You have magic?” 

“Yeah, don’t you?” As soon as Maiuma said it, Tira gave her most sassy version of a bewildered expression. “Oh…” She said, dropping her gaze. Tira sighed and shifted her weight. Maiuma had never even considered the possibility that she was thrust into this world and given tremendous and volatile magic, but at the same time, her twin could end up with none at all. Truthfully, she had never even imagined Tira being here with her at all. 

“So you burst into flames when you use it? It doesn’t just look like when Solas uses it?” Tira inquired, lacing her fingers together on the top of her head. 

“Yeah. I can control it a little more now that I’ve been studying with Solas, but at first… Well, at first, I was doing things like killing huge Pride demons by accident.” She told her. 

“Hm…” Tira leaned back and cast her gaze to the ceiling. 

“Hm…? What does that mean?” Tira shrugged.

“I've heard of that before." 

"Really?" Maiuma stepped closer. Could there have been some precedent for something like this in the game? Some side character that ended up with powers like this and helped out in some way? If there were, Tira would most likely know about it. 

"Yeah, like your whole body explodes into flames? And your hair turns bright yellow?”

“Wait, no. My hair doesn’t-"

“Yeah, you gotta be super saiyan." Tira led with complete confidence. Maiuma gawked at her, crossing her arms. 

"What? You think I'm super saiyan?"

"I mean, what else?"

“Maybe I’m just a regular human that has slightly stronger powers than a lot of people?” Maiuma argued humorously, but she found herself slightly annoyed that Tira didn’t have an answer or solution for her biggest problem in Thedas. 

“I don’t know…” Tira looked like she was mulling over the implications in her head. The implications of Maiuma, her own twin sister, not being a fucking super saiyan. 

“Why are you so confused?”

“Wait.” Her expression turned serious for a split second and then her lips spread thin across her face. Her shoulders shook with laughter so great she couldn’t even vocalize it. “Could you imagine if Solas was a super saiyan-” Gasp. “And he just-” Gasp. “He doesn’t even have hair!” Gasp. “What turns blonde?” Gasp, hack. “Just his eyebrows,” Cackle, gasp. “And his peepee hair!” She cackled and fell over. Maiuma snorted loudly and hid her face with her knees. 

“Why the hell would you say that to me?” She asked through the spasms of laughter. She could tell that Tira was crying from the tremble in her voice. 

“I- I can’t!” She said, rocking back and forth on the floor. “I just can’t! I’m sorry, let’s go see Flissa!”

“You’re so stupid.” Maiuma said as she got up and lent Tira a hand. Once up, she pulled Tira into a powerful hug. There was no other feeling in the world like laughing this hard with her twin. She’d missed her so terribly. 

“You love me.” Tira told her once she’d caught her breath. 

“I do.” Maiuma sighed. Despite how similar Chivi and Tira were, little things like the way Tira always scratched her back when they hugged reminded her that they weren’t the same person. There was no replacing the real thing. “Let’s go meet Chivi at the tavern.” 

“Hey,” Tira swiped a thumb under Maiuma’s eye. “What’s this about?”    


“I missed you, you brute.” Maiuma said, taking her hand and leading her out of the cabin. 

“Uma,” Tira pulled her slightly back. “Is there anything else I should know about you? Any webbed toes or extraneous knowledge?” 

“I don’t think so…” Maiuma thought for a little bit and Tira started them towards the tavern again. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around, as it was nighttime already, but Maiuma lowered her voice just in case. “Ah, my magic seems to be most effective when I’m singing.” Tira nodded slowly.

“Like a bard?” She asked. Maiuma tilted her head to the side. She hadn’t really thought about what class she would be in this world. It was obvious that Tira was a rogue. She always had been the type. 

“If bards purified demons with their voices?” 

“ _ Kwi sia!  _ Fuck. Why do you get to be the cool one?” Tira exclaimed. “I mean, those kinds of mages don’t really exist here, but if they did, I guess you could be thrown in with the Spirit mages. Do you get your power from the Fade or is it inherent?” Maiuma thought about it for a moment. When she actually considered it, it did seem like Solas always had magic inside of him and she was always pulling hers from somewhere else. She had no idea those were different things. She’d just assumed that Solas was better at storing his within his body once drawn from the Fade. 

“The Fade, I think.” She told her. “And Solas is the opposite, right?” Tira nodded then her eyes widened slightly. 

“Roublet-ay up heada-ay.” She said and from the corner of her eye, Maiuma caught a mass of metal glinting in the moonlight. Cullen’s blonde hair and fur collar preceded him. He was staring right at the two of them, and he didn’t look happy. As soon as he made to walk in their direction, a scout tapped him on the shoulder. The accusatory glare he sent their way before turning to the scout left no confusion. They would have to talk to him sooner or later- along with Cassandra and Leliana. She was not looking forward to those conversations. Tira and her were going to have to avoid Cullen for as long as possible and get their stories straight before the Seeker and Sister got back. One wrong word or lie could easily land them on some kind of blacklist, or worse. Three different kinds of blacklists. She was so happy that Tira was here with her now, but she added so much to the list of complaints the Inquisition was able to draw on their account. There was no amount of foreknowledge of the game that could stop an execution or Tranquilization- short of absconding to a new territory, but even then, Maiuma didn’t want to be on the run forever. Not here. Not anywhere, but definitely not here. 

“Hey, Spacey.” Tira interrupted her thoughts. She looked mildly worried. Maiuma realized much too late that she was doing a terrible job at reeling in her emotions when Tira looked her head to toe. “You doin’ some kind of spirit magic right now?”

“No. I’m just… My magic also fluctuates very, very heavily based on my emotions. Why? Can you feel it?” 

“Mm… No… Cullen just look a lil’ sick.” Shit. She’d also forgotten Solas told her that the templars could sense magic. 

“Hey, Bright and Shady!” Varric’s voice bounced off the trees and cabins. She looked up to see they were almost at the tavern. Varric was at the door, waving. 

“Hey, which one of us is Shady?” Tira humored as they neared. 

“Well, given you had to ask…” Varric edged, a smirk perched on his lips. “The Herald saved both of ya a seat.” 

“Thank you, Varric.” Maiuma told him. He shrugged. 

“Like I said, Lucky saved you gals seats. I’m just the messenger.” He told them and then nodded to the door. “Shall we?”

“On second thought, I think I will have a drink.” Maiuma said. Varric chuckled. 

“Hell yeah, sissy! Let’s go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, friends!  
> Not a whole lot of diverse language in this one..
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Ta’aven re eolasen/Ta’aven eolasen- Two words, she knows. Of course, referring to Josie's earlier "An'daran Atish'an". She literally knows two words in Elvhen. 
> 
> Island Speak:   
> Kwi Sia!- Oh my! 
> 
> Pig Latin: (For those of you who are not fluent ;)  
> Roublet-ay up heada-ay - Trouble up Ahead
> 
> So there! The sisters are somewhat caught up. Everyone's drinking together. Looks like generally, everything is on the skinny. Of course, it only looks that way...
> 
> Also, I hope you appreciate this chapter!  
> You have no idea how strong the urge to entitle this chapter "Bright Yellow Peepee Hair" was. I had to really use my brain to come up with the current title, which is not at all as clever.
> 
> Anyway, tell me in the comments how long you think the girls can last without clashing with Cullen.   
> As always, I'll see you next week!


	19. Chapter 18: Asshole Factory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Solas talks to the twins. Chivi is popular with the assholes.

Solas walked up to the cabin the Herald and Maiuma had previously shared feeling a bit of apprehension. He wasn't quite sure how to address her, now that he knew she was human. A part of him wanted nothing to do with her after the discovery- she was a human pretending to be an elf, or else she was blissfully reaping the benefits of being confused for one. Another part of him knew that not all humans were as selfish and irreverent as those who once, and still, enslaved his people. Another part still burned to know so much more about her. This part may have been the entire reason he was here at her doorstep, hoping to continue their lessons.

As he approached, his ears pricked up at the sound of a gentle sigh coming from the side of the abode, followed by a sharp hiss and a voice.

"Ow…" Female. He silently rounded the corner to find a twin. Maiuma, it seemed, for she was wearing her thin, dragon embroidered cloak. She also wielded her crystal blade, and from the look of it she'd pricked her finger on it.

" _ Savhall _ \- Hello, Maiuma.” Solas tried to hide his disappointment at the slipup. She turned, startled, then bowed. In the motion, her glasses fell from her head and she scrambled to pick them up. 

“ _ Savhalla _ , Solas.” She greeted. He only inclined his head. 

“May I?” He reached for her hand. When her eyes widened and her head tilted in her familiar way, he gestured to the tip of his own finger and then looked down at the tiny cut on hers.

“Oh…” She gave him her hand and looked back down at her blade. 

“I must admit. Yesterday was quite the surprise, seeing as you hadn’t told anyone you had a twin.” He told her while he wiped away some of the blood on her finger and healed the wound.  _ Human blood _ . He thought. 

“Yeah…” She said simply. He took a moment to gather his thoughts in the order that he wanted to say them.

“I should like to continue our lessons whenever you are amenable.” He looked at her. She nodded. “It would be best that we not miss any opportunities to show the-”  _ Fenedhis. _ “Show the rest of the Inquisition’s officials that you are capable of the control necessary to continue operations here. I should also like to suggest you begin training with the Commander to sharpen your prowess with the blade. I have not yet seen you act against anything but demons with it, but I somehow doubt its integrity when it comes to close combat with those of this world. It would be wise to carry another sword or staff just in case one should have need of it.” She nodded again. “Do you have any words in addition? Are you in total submission to my suggestions?” It was quite strange how she hadn’t flinched even a little when he mentioned training with Cullen. Usually she would be swearing up and down that she could never wield a sword with the intention to kill another. Instead, she just stared at him with a mostly blank expression. An expression that seemed far more familiar to him than it ought to have. 

“So you guys just learned Elven together? Completely unprompted?” He heard Chivi’s voice nearing the cabin.

“Yeah. Pretty much.” The voice of another twin sounded. 

“I’m so curious just how much you guys were able to learn if the Dalish know so little compared to you. What's the word for twin?”

“Um…I think she might know a little more than me about that.” 

“It’s  _ taron. _ Plural,  _ taronen. _ ” The twin in front of him answered. The two newcomers came around the corner within the next moment. The other twin was wearing Maiuma’s green scarf with Tira’s heavier leather jacket. The small maroon pack Maiuma usually carried was fastened securely around her chest. 

“Hey,” She uttered, looking a little confused. She bowed to Solas and then set her eyes on her twin. “Are those my glasses?”

“Well they’re certainly not mine.” The other twin responded. Solas looked back to her. When they met eyes, her blank expression quickly turned into a sly smirk as she assumed a stance that was more fitting of Tira. 

“I’ve been looking for those!” The twin he now recognized as Maiuma exclaimed. Tira shrugged, the smirk cemented to her face. He should’ve known- looked closer. There were obvious clues before him. Her relative complacency with his requests, the blank expression. He looked down at her shoes. Boots. The other twin was still wearing his old footwraps. When Tira raised a hand to her mouth to hide her enormous delight that he hadn’t been observant enough, he saw the vallasalin on her hands. Andruil’s. 

“Well, were you two going around hoping to confuse someone?” His lips ran loose. “I don’t appreciate petty games, nor do I have a tolerance for being tricked or lied to.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. Maybe you should ask next time instead of assuming you know my sister so well.” Tira responded in a crisp, confident air. Solas clicked his tongue and took a deep breath.

“Why else would you be wearing her clothes? Holding her blade?” 

“She gave me her jacket because it’s warmer than the other one. I don’t know why she’s wearing my glasses, but I didn’t think anyone would be looking for me so early.” Maiuma explained in a much softer tone. Solas noticed that his shoulders had risen and his magic had responded to his lack of composure when Tira squinted her impossibly vulpine eyes at him and Chivi spoke. 

“You okay, Solas?” She inquired, arm still linked with Maiuma’s. He took some time to regain some control over his emotions before responding, taking care to replace his neutral facade.

“I am fine. I came looking for you, Herald. How has your mark been treating you? Have you had any more flare ups?” He side-eyed Tira as he turned his back to her. She remained virtually unphased. 

“Um it’s been pretty good. Hurts like hell sometimes, but…” His gaze drifted to Maiuma, who seemed to chastise Tira with her eyes. “Da’blar’s been very helpful, actually. Her magic helps.” He was relieved to hear that she hadn’t been compromising the mark’s energy, nor Chivi’s ability to wield it but he hated that someone else was handling his mark. Especially someone with as much power and as little training as Maiuma. If Chivi was having issues with it, she should be coming to him before trying anything else. It was his magic, after all, and his cross to bear. His claim to power within the ranks of the Inquisition. “I promise I’ll come straight to you if anything changes. I know you’re our actual Fade guy.”

“I am so much more than a ‘Fade guy’, but I will remember your words. I am worried about adverse effects of different magic types on the mark you possess- it is of the Fade, afterall.”

“And you know more about that than anyone else, right?” Tira inquired from behind him. Of course he did. Where did these ignorant humans get their gall? His prowess had been questioned too many times to date. If only they knew who they were dealing with. 

“I suppose I do.” He answered, then inclined his head to the Herald. “That is all.” 

“Bye, Solas.” Tira sang in a pleasant voice. He didn’t respond as he walked far away from the three women. He was going to have to find a way to get used to Tira’s sarcastic demeanor and her apparent affinity for tricks and games- or else stay out of her line of fire. He had never expected that anyone born from the same womb as the gentle and overbright Bulwark could be so different. So conniving. Not even Falon’Din and Dirthamen had been this different-natured. Then again, Sylaise and Andruil were sometimes like night and day, though they were only half-sisters. 

____________________________________________________________________________

“Why are you picking on Solas?” Maiuma regarded her twin, brows furrowed, arms crossed. 

“I don’t know what you mean.” Tira smiled pleasantly.

“No, I was here too. You were definitely picking on Solas.” Chivi confirmed. Tira rolled her eyes.

“He just seems like a bit of a closet asshole to me. That’s all.” She relented. Maiuma knew that she had the entire lore of Solas as the Dreadwolf in mind too, but she was being a bit heavy-handed with her assertions. 

“What gives you that impression?” Chivi asked. “I mean, if we’re being honest, there’s times where he does weird shit or says stuff that makes you wonder, but..”

“It’s just a hunch. Who knows. Maybe I’ll end up being best buds with him by the time this is all over.” Tira told them. It was highly unlikely, but Maiuma did silently hope that Tira would be able to at least get along with him. Besides him seeming like a much nicer person here than in the game, he was also the all-powerful trickster god who somehow managed to lock all the others away and damn this world to suffer- forever disconnected from the Fade that used to be an integral part of it. If he wanted her gone, she would be gone, and there was nothing they could do about it but stay on his good side- and knowing Tira, that was a tall order. 

“What were we talking about when you were me?” She asked, swiftly changing the topic before she could overthink on that. 

“Oh, he wants to keep teaching you lessons.” Tira supplied, leaning against the side of the adjacent cabin. Maiuma nodded. 

“Well, I was wondering when or if you guys were going to start again. You’ve been getting pretty good at controlling your magic and stuff. I’d hate for you to stop.” Chivi told her. 

“Yeah, I was hoping we wouldn’t stop either, but knowing about him and his… opinions about humans and the Dalish… It was a 50/50.” Maiuma considered her words. He still hadn’t talked to her for more than five seconds since the incident. She had no gauge on how he was taking the news of her being human. 

“He also wants you to start training with the Commander. He says you need to be able to sharpen up your form and use a real sword.” Tira mentioned casually, then lowered her voice. “Be careful. I know this isn’t your cup of tea anyway, but as much as I don’t trust Solas, I really don’t know about Cullen.” 

“I do. He’ll have me for breakfast. I might as well give him my neck to wring!” Maiuma exclaimed. Training with Cullen, as good as it sounded on paper, was the worst possible thing for her to pursue at this time. “It’s bad enough that everyone expects me to be a killing machine.”

“Relax, girl. Nobody’s going to hurt my sister. Not while I’m around.” Tira told her, and it actually did give Maiuma some of her courage back. Tira had her back if no one else did. So did Chivi and Varric. “I’m not worried about your safety, and I’m not worried about you becoming more violent, but I am worried about him saying things to you that he shouldn’t. Saying things about you.” 

“Honestly, I get it. I’ve seen how he treats his recruits in practice. He’s pretty friendly and respectful to his men off the field, but on it, he likes to make examples of people. And given how weirdly passive aggressive he is with you… there’s no telling what’ll happen.” Chivi added, shrugging. “But Tira’s right. We’ve got your back. Do you know if Solas has already spoken to Cullen?” 

“That, I don’t. He didn’t actually say if he planned on mentioning it or if he wanted you to do it.” Tira responded. “Pretty shitty tutor, if you ask me.” That drew a chuckle from Chivi and a curt rush of air from Maiuma’s nose. Then Tira’s face went blank. Maiuma followed her gaze up the road behind her to a bipedal heap of metal and fur. His expression was almost the exact same as last night. “Maybe we’ll know in a matter of moments anyway.” 

“Herald. Bulwark.” He greeted Maiuma with a slight bass to his tone, then he looked to Tira as if he were trying to remember her name, but didn’t really care to ask.

“Commander Cullen.” Tira jutted her chin at him, looking for all, the perfect image of confidence. She really did know how to deal with everyone here. It seemed to irritate Cullen, but was apparently enough to make him leave her alone. 

“Herald, might I have a word?” He turned his attention to Chivi alone. She squinted slightly.

“Is it urgent?” She asked. 

“More urgent than whatever this is, I’d wager.” He spoke with a disregard that made Maiuma take a small step back. She didn’t want to be in his space. “Accompany me to the training grounds.” 

“Sure.” Chivi agreed after scratching her head, mussing up her straight white mop of hair. She turned to Maiuma and Tira. “Catch ya later,  _ ma’taronen _ .” Maiuma nodded and bowed shallowly to the both of them. The only acknowledgement she received from Cullen was a show of prolonged eye contact. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but before she could even begin to speculate, he was gone down the road with Chivi in tow. Maiuma let out a sigh and shook her nerves out, wiping her hands over her face. 

“The Herald sure is popular today.”

“She’s popular everyday.” Maiuma told her. 

“Popular with the assholes everyday?” Maiuma eyed her sister and then chuckled. Yes. She _was_ pretty popular with the assholes of the Inquisition today. The only one missing was the Chancellor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, beautiful friends! I hope everyone's weekend was pleasant!
> 
> Elvhen:  
> Fenedhis- Wolf peepee. (A curse similar to Fuck! or Damnit!)
> 
> We're still crawling so far. Grabbing our bearings in this new world called two twins, bipedal heaps of metal and fur, and even furrier love interests. Stay tuned for more shenanigans. Also for those who like fight scenes in these stories, they are coming! (Not me spending hours meticulously preparing every single move, physically and psychologically. Nuh uh. Can't relate...)
> 
> In any case,   
> See you guys next week!


	20. Chapter 19: Never Trust What You See On The Screen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a duel.

“Papa, Buddy doesn’t look so good.” Maiuma looked into Buddy’s drooping face as she petted him. 

“He’s getting old,  _ Suorra _ .” Papa sat down next to Tira and slapped Buddy’s back in the way she knew he appreciated. His tail wagged and he slowly leaned his head towards Papa.

“Oh…” She cast her gaze away. Somewhere inside of her, she knew that getting old was just a part of life, and Buddy was, infact, getting old, but she couldn’t help but feel betrayed by the idea. If everybody was supposed to get old at some point, why was it so horrible? Is that what everyone deserved? 

“Is he going to leave us like Etta did?” She heard Tira ask. She was always asking questions like that. The questions Maiuma thought but could never speak into the world. Papa scratched Buddy behind his ear and softly chuckled. That made Maiuma look up.

“Auntie Etta didn’t leave us, Luli. She’s just away from us for a little while.” Maiuma now recognized the vague distance in his eyes as he said those words. It likely meant that he knew she was gone. He just didn’t want to admit it.

“Will you ever leave us, Papa?” 

“I will never leave you.” He grabbed Maiuma’s hand with both of his. They were big and warm and gentle. They were safe. “You girls are all I have left.” His eyes roamed her as if he were trying to memorize her. 

“Us and auntie?” She asked. Why would he have forgotten to say that if she wasn’t gone?

“ _ Di ekmiv _ ,  _ Suorra _ . Of course. Come here.” He swooped both of the sisters up in his big arms and squeezed them. At the time, Maiuma had seen the tears in his eyes and felt them wash up on the shore of her shoulder blade, but she couldn’t tell what they were for. Now it was clear. He was afraid of something. Was it getting old and leaving them? Was it a fear of one of them getting hurt or sick? “You and auntie are all I have. We must protect each other.” 

“Don’t worry! When I get bigger, me and Buddy are gonna protect you all! Even when we’re apart, I’ll be protecting you! Cause I’m this strong!” Tira broke away from their Papa’s embrace and spread her little arms as wide as they could go. Their papa laughed as Maiuma wiped his tears. 

“Okay, Tira. You must remember that when you’re bigger. Never leave your sister’s side, no matter what.” He nodded to her and put on a misleadingly confident smile. “ _ Cadilan _ ?” He stuck out his hand in a way that always looked like a bunny rabbit to Maiuma; a weird sort of fistbump where index and pinky were extended. Tira excitedly returned the gesture. 

“ _ Cadilansi _ , Papa!”

“Good.” He sighed and looked at the both of them. Then he looked at Buddy with an odd expression. “ _Ashneyth kornari_ __,_ Mokornarii _ .”

“ _Ashneyth kornari_ __,_ Papa.”  _ And then a bright light flooded her vision. Even when the dream version of her closed her eyes, it was still there. From out of the light came a figure. The same bassoon spirit she’d seen before. Why did they keep coming to interrupt her dreams?

Maiuma felt the waking world flood into her senses at a crawl. The dream had been over for a while, but she still had an odd sensation of not quite being awake yet. It felt like some sort of in between. Finally, when her eyes drifted open, she saw the shape of Tira laying next to her. Her back was turned and Maiuma could tell that at some point during the night, her hair had gotten in her mouth. As usual, it was everywhere. 

Maiuma drew a few strands away from Tira’s face and kissed her cheek before getting ready for the day ahead. It was a blessing that she’d had that sweet dream this morning. Today she was going to have to ask Cullen about training with him, and it seemed like she needed all of the strength that baby Tira boasted and thensome. 

After stretching and freshening up and going to get the components for tea from Adan- always a necessary part of the day- she slowly made her way to the training grounds in front of the Chantry. She made sure to go as slow as she possibly could. Maiuma was not an indecisive person, and neither was she ever afraid of people, but something about Cullen and everything he stood for really drove her nerves up a wall. Even worse, it riled up her magic, which would in turn, rile him up. 

She spotted him in active combat with a recruit far left of the field and from the looks of it, he was not having a very good day. She almost turned on her heel to take more time to think about her plea, but a loud voice stopped her in her tracks.

“It’s the Lady Bulwark.” A recruit announced, and suddenly most of the commotion of training had ceased. “I think…” He added, probably unsure of which twin she was. She put on an affirming smile and inclined her head, gripping onto her tea for dear life. As soon as Cullen caught her eye, he was at her side. 

“Lady Bulwark, we need to talk.” 

“Yes we do,” She hurried to beat him to it, slightly bowing her head in part, to show respect, and in part to hide her eyes from his. “I would like to formally request to be trained by you.” It took him a while to respond, and she could hear him take a couple breaths, as if to speak after each one, but it took the third time for him to say anything. 

“Really?” He sounded unenthusiastic at best. 

“Really.” She looked up and put her smile back on. Everyone on the grounds was watching. “Sol- Master Solas told me that it would be wise for me to not only sharpen my control of my magic, but to train my body, as well, and you are the best one to assist. If you would be willing.” 

“This is quite rich, actually.” He said with a weird half smile that barely even creased the corners of his cheeks, and certainly didn’t reach his eyes. “The Lady Bulwark, respected and thought to be an all powerful mage running to me, the former knight-commander, for training.” Wasn’t he supposed to be different at this point in the game? Hadn’t he already turned a new leaf by willingly joining the Inquisition?

“That is what I’m asking, yes.” She was also unsure that people were calling her all powerful. It seemed like a stretch for someone who just killed one Pride demon to close a rift.

“What a load.” 

“Excuse me?” She squinted, remembering she had a hot cup of tea in her hands. She lifted it to her mouth, but hesitated to take a sip. 

“You still have a lot of explaining to do about yourself and that sister of yours. Have you forgotten that you are still a self-righteous mage that no one knows anything about?” He shifted his weight and she felt her fingers for rings, as was her natural and nervous inclination. She definitely needed to get ahold of some. 

“I can come back if you’re not feeling great today.” It was obvious that he was having a bad day, and if he continued to make it this hard for her magic to stay in check, they would have a bigger issue than principalities.

“Nonsense. You wanted to train. We’re both here.” He flashed his teeth at her and waved some men out of the way. Something about the situation made her immensely uncomfortable. He was smiling and offering to help, but she felt threatened. Her magic pushed against the Veil, begging to come to her aid, but she wouldn’t let it. She wasn’t fighting anyone. It just felt like she was. “Summoning your magic, Lady Bulwark?” He was digesting her every move. She found herself frozen in the wake of his gaze. 

When his right arm twitched, she felt her magic pierce through the Veil on its own and wrap around her like a cocoon. She was beyond glad that it hadn’t exploded out everywhere, but she saw several of the former templars flinch at the occurrence. This was bad. It was good that it wasn’t trying to attack everyone, but now that it was out in the open like this, everyone was on guard. She faintly registered Tira walking up behind Cullen as she nearly smacked a hand to her forehead, trying to chase away the survival instinct she didn’t know she had. She heard Cullen's hand fly to the hilt of his sword before she realized she shouldn't have moved so suddenly.

“I dare you.” Tira had a blade pressed to Cullen’s throat in a matter of seconds. A round of gasps and disbelieving whispers filled Maiuma’s ears. 

“Tira-”

“And if I did?” Cullen challenged, sneering at the cold steel on his throat.

“Unhand him right now!” One of the recruits shouted. Cullen raised a hand to halt him.

“What exactly are you trying to pull? You’re on Chantry grounds surrounded by my men.”

“I don’t give a damn if you’re Andraste, herself. If you ever think about laying a hand on my sister,” She yanked the blade. Cullen hissed as a bead of blood glistened on the surface of the metal. “I will not hesitate.”

“You’re hesitating now aren’t you?” In the split second Tira’s eyes found Maiuma’s, Cullen drew his sword and knocked hers from her grip. He pushed her back and plunged his sword into the dirt where Tira would’ve been if she hadn’t rolled out of the way. She quickly grabbed her sword and charged Cullen back into the center of one of the training rings. Cullen seemed surprised by the force she brought, and Maiuma didn’t blame him. She was also surprised that Tira could almost knock a grown man in full armor off his feet. She’d always been strong, but Cullen was a trained warrior in an age where there was not much more to do than that. 

“Tira, no-” 

“Me and you. Training ground rules.” She told Cullen, and then looked at Maiuma. “Don’t cross this line.” Cullen sauntered up to her and shook her hand with a weight that said he would barely be following the rules, whatever they were. The next thing she knew, the two were fighting again. As they traded blows, it became apparent that Tira was a lot more skilled than Maiuma had ever imagined her to be. All that time at the Venatori camp must’ve sharpened her just like Maiuma’s magic was being constantly trained by Solas. 

Tira hooked her sword under Cullen’s knee and he shouted as he fell into a kneel. Before he could catch his bearings, Tira kicked him hard in the chest, throwing him on his back. As her foot came down with him, Cullen yanked it forward. She lost her balance and fell beside him only to roll out of the way when two of Cullen’s men entered the circle and tried to grab her. 

“Commander Cullen!” Maaiuma and the soldiers worried in chorus.

“What, can’t fight your own fights, Commander?” Tira interjected as she elbowed one soldier in the face and threw dirt in the other one’s eyes. 

“Says the woman who resorts to attacking an enemy from behind and throwing dirt in their faces.” Cullen argued gruffly. Tira stepped on one man’s heel and grabbed his hair, threatening the other with the point of her sword. When she thought Cullen wasn’t going to call them off, Tira threw her captive to the ground and put a hand on the hilt of her second blade. 

“Out of the ring.” He commanded his men. By now, they had earned a crowd of soldiers and town’s people alike, wondering which one of them would be bested. Cullen eyed Tira’s other sword. “Holding back?” When Tira put her hand back on the blade, Maiuma tried again.

“Tira, stop! You don’t have to fight him. Commander Cullen, she’s not a soldier!” 

“She sure holds her own in a battle.” He growled. He was back on her in the blink of an eye. Tira swung her sword above her as Cullen’s cleaved downward right above her head. Maiuma wanted to tear her eyes away, but couldn’t bring herself to do so. She didn’t know who she was more afraid for. Tira was just a new-comer, and Cullen was a former templar aggressing on a mage's sister. People were already talking. Winning was not an ideal situation for either of them at this point. 

“Guys, please.” She begged them. Tira ignored her as she danced around Cullen’s blade and kicked him in the side. She pulled the sword from his grip with the momentum and threw it to the other side of the ring. She stepped over him, sword poised, just in time for him to bring a fist to the inside of her knee, forcing her to straddle him. Her blade plunged into the ground, long forgotten, and they grappled until Tira’s hair fell out of its messy bun and Cullen yanked hard on it, throwing her to the ground and pinning her. In a stroke of luck, Cullen’s legs missed her hips and she was able to get her legs under his stomach to kick- hard. He recovered quickly and grabbed her blade, shikko stepping to her side and choking her with the flat of it. Tira kicked and grabbed at Cullen while it seemed he was trying harder and harder to contain her. 

“Tira!” Maiuma tried to make eye contact with her. She tried to find some sign that she was still in the fight- that she was okay. Maiuma felt her magic starting to rile up again. “Commander Cullen, stop! It’s over!” She cried out, finally making eye contact with Tira. Suddenly, the blade turned a searing red. It seemed like the sword began boiling, but it was only for the blink of an eye- enough for Tira to regain control of the fight as Cullen hissed and dropped the blade. Tira rolled back up, regaining her sense of balance after a bit of stumbling and dashed for her sword at the same time as Cullen. Just in the nick of time, she was able to kick it away and land a punch to Cullens jaw. When she turned back around, Maiuma could see a familiar fire in her eyes. Tira grabbed the sword and headbutted Cullen, taking his immobility to rear up and deliver the final blow. Maiuma knew the look in her eyes all too well. She was done playing around. 

“Ti, stop!” Maiuma jumped in between Cullen and Tira at the very moment her blade was due to connect with Cullen’s throat. Tira was forced to grab her right arm with her left in order to avoid hitting Maiuma. The force she used to stop her sword arm looked like it should’ve cracked her radius, but the blade stopped just on the skin of Maiuma’s collarbone. Maiuma could feel Cullen’s frantic breath on her neck and she could still see the burning passion in Tira’s eyes. 

“I wasn’t gonna hit him.” Tira threw her sword down and it stuck vertically in the dirt. She turned her back and sighed. “You’re lucky she liked you in the first playthrough.” She glared at Cullen from the corner of her eye. Maiuma turned to Cullen and reached out a hand to help him up.

“What does she mean?”

“Did that just happen?”

“Yeah, did the Commander just get his ass handed to him by an untrained woman?”

“Well, she obviously has some sort of training. She’s the Bulwark’s sister too.” The people around them started to whisper and speculate. Cullen spat blood and smacked her hand away from him. Tira pulled her back by the shoulder and shook her head as Cullen stood up. 

“This isn’t over.” He grimly stated, walking over to his sword and resheathing it. Maiuma grabbed Tira’s sword and pulled it from the earth, which was surprisingly hard to do. 

“I would hope not, Knight-Commander.” Tira emphasized the word ‘knight’. “We wouldn’t want people to talk, now would we?” She grinned cryptically. “I think my sister is feeling a little tired today. Perhaps you should both regroup and train tomorrow. Or next week. Or never.” 

She dragged Maiuma through the crowd of soldiers and gossiping villagers alike until they were behind the Chantry. Tira took a deep breath as if she were going to sigh dramatically, but never did.   


“God, I’d forgotten how much I hated him in the first arc.” 

“You don’t have to protect me from everything, you know? We do have to at least cooperate with the Inquisition to see this through to Trespasser.” She cautioned. Tira sat on the spot and reached out for her blade. 

“Technically, I know so much about the game at this point that we could blow this joint and sit pretty in Antiva for the next 5 years.” She said and then collapsed onto her back, sprawling herself out. Maiuma kneeled next to her.

“Haven’t you complained to me about how the Antivans are so misinformed about a woman’s role in society?”

“Well then, we’ll move to Orlais. It’s more like what we’re used to anyway.”

“Yeah, but most of the elves living in Val Royeaux are peasants or servants.” Maiuma pointed out. Tira rubbed her eyes. 

“Damn, girl, do you know more about this world than me now? And did you forget you’re not an elf?”

“No, but apparently we look enough like elves that one of those snobby nobles wouldn’t know the difference.” Tira rolled her eyes. “We don’t have to move away. Just be nice to our allies here.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the older sister.”

“Neither are you, Ti.” Maiuma giggled. Tira’s lips lifted into a small smile, and then she erupted into a fit of chuckles. Then she started fully cackling. 

“Did I really just kick his ass in front of all of his men?”

“Yes, you did. Are you ashamed yet?”

“Ashamed? Absolutely not. A tiny bit sorry? Maybe.” She sat up. “Sorry, sissy. I know you just want to keep the peace. But if he ever puts his hand on his sword again while making eye contact with you, I will kill him. We can just be on the run forever, fuck it. No one threatens my sister.” Maiuma stroked the side of Tira’s head where the hair had been shaved. It was pretty long now. “I know. I’m way long overdue for a trim.” 

“It’s nice when you don’t cut it.”

“Who the hell wants to look like you with your boring long hair?” Tira joked. Maiuma shoved her head to the side and looked around. 

“We should make our way somewhere else. Even here, being secluded behind a church has never not been shaddy.” Maiuma suggested. Tira nodded. After a moment, Maiuma helped her up and held onto her hand, demanding her attention. “You were on equal footing with him over there.” Tira looked like she was about to dismiss her claim, but Maiuma pulled her hand back towards her. “He’s a commander, Tira.”

“I got lucky.” Somehow, she doubted luck had anything to do with it. “You said it yourself. He’s a commander, Uma. There’s no way I would ever be able to beat him under any other circumstances.” She told her, tidying up Maiuma’s scarf and running her fingers through her hair. “I’m actually terrified of dueling him again.” .

“Then don’t.” 

“A deal’s a deal, sissy.”

“Then a duel’s a duel, I guess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy (late, late, late)Monday/ (early, early) Tuesday, everybody! I hope everyone is enjoying the start of their week! (Apologies for the late update; authors really do be busy)
> 
> "Island Speak":  
> Suorra- An endearment. Sweetie or baby.  
> Di ekmiv- Of course.  
> Cadilan? Cadilansi.- Promise? Promise you.  
> Ashneyth kornari- I love you.   
> Mokornarii- My loves.
> 
> Fight club!!   
> See you next week with some fallout from talking about fight club!


End file.
